Hogan's Heroes - Part 22

After a hiatus, we're moving onto the final season of Hogan's Heroes. Ivan Dixon (Kinchloe) has left the series, to be replaced by Kenneth Washington (Baker). No explanation from a narrative perspective--it's the Two Darrens syndrome.

• LeBeau is doing his normal job--chef by day, spy by night--when he gets word that de Gaulle is calling in all free Frenchmen to fight. Of course, he wants to go, and despite the boys arguments, he does. There's a strange moment when he says goodbye to each of them including Baker, who we've known for less than 10 minutes. The girl (Brenda Benet) helping her escape is captured, so Hogan and the boys help him out--as long as LeBeau comes back for more "Cuisine 'a la Stalag 13".
• A Gestapo man (Edward Knight) comes into camp, then grabs and shoots a german soldier--why? Turns out he was involved in a top secret project at his last post--and there's a second man involved that's now on leave (Noam Pitlik). Hogan and the boys get to him just before the bad guys do in "The Experts".   
• It's another scam on Klink--this time Hogan convinces the Commandant he's a great painter. It's all so they can meet underground agents at an art gallery for "Klink's Masterpiece". It's very much like a Sgt. Bilko episode--except for the POW camp.
• The plane of an English traitor, Sir Charles Chitterly, crashes near Stalag 13--he happens to look a lot like Col. Critterdon (Bernard Fox). The boys want to nab him, so they have to break out the real Crittendon from a nearby stalag and set him up to replace the traitor. They make the swap before the Nazi general (Harold Gould) comes up pick up Chitterly. Unfortunately, his wife (Anne Rogers) shows up, which is a problem for "Lady Chatterly's Lover". She's apparently one of the good guys and she wants him dead (the real one) so she joins the team. Ooh, it's a two parter...
• Hitler wants Chitterly in Berlin ASAP--that's a problem. Lady Chitterly doesn't trust  Hogan, and vice versa--another problem. She decides to play up a former relationship with Hogan, in order to delay their exit from the camp. The real Crittendon escapes from the tunnels, and confuses Klink and Schultz. If that isn't enough, Hochstedder arrives and there's a lot of shouting. Hitler calls (?!?) and Lady Chitterly tells him to send troops across the channel (so they can be ambushed). Crittendon and Lady Chitterly are on their way to England before that happens.
• The Gestapo is back--Maj. Strauss (Joseph Ruskin) is checking out the camp.  It's "The Gestapo Takeover" of the whole operation, sending the current administration to Stalingrad. Hogan needs to get rid of them--Klink agrees to ally with him to avoid the Russian Front. I love Klink in sunglasses trying to be incogneto. Hogan decides to blackmail Strauss. Klink (of course) is the patsy, giving papers to Burkhalter that Strauss and his boss are involved in a plot to kill Hitler and surrender to the allies. 

Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: Two Generations Meet

We begin with a two-parter that brings The Original Series and TNG together...

• "Unification Part 1" begins with a mission for the Enterprise--find out why Ambassador Spock (yes, that Spock) went to the Romulan Empire. Picard visits Sarek to get some info, but he's mentally fading (it's one of Mark Lenard's last performances). Picard gets Gowron to loan them a cloaked ship, so off go Picard and Data to Romulus while the Enterprise investigates the wreckage of a Vulcan ship. There's a lot of wackiness with a ship junkyard and Picard on a Klingon ship--then word comes that Sarek has died. Picard and Data get to Romulus, but are taken to a cave, and we finally run into Leonard Nimoy as Spock. Three more TOS connections: their contact on Romulus is played by Malachi Throne who played a Commodore on the TOS two-parter "The Menagerie", this episode was a kind of sequel to Star Trek VI which hit the box office shortly after, and the most significant--Gene Roddenberry died just before this episode originally aired.
• In the second part of "Unification", Picard tells Spock of Sarek's death. Spock is there to foster a peace initiative between Vulcan and Romulus--there's a movement on the latter world. Riker and Worf have a subplot at a bar, but it's immaterial. There's court intrigue back on Romulus--Sela (Denise Crosby) is sneaking around. Picard is suspicious, while Spock wants to play things out. Spock and Data have an interchange about humanity. Sela captures our heroes--she wants Spock to announce a fake peace mission, and she has a holographic Spock if he won't do it (and he won't of course). They fool her with their own holograms, and they screw around with the Spock hologram as well. In a lovely touch, Data takes her out with the ol' Vulcan Nerve Pinch. Picard and Data manage to escape, but Spock decides to stay behind to help the resistance.
• In "A Matter of Time", the Enterprise is assisting a distressed planet (an ecological catastrophe is causing a nuclear winter) when a visitor (Matt Frewer) arrives on the bridge--he says he's a historian from the 26th century. The crew seems to accept this fairly easily. At one point, the historian hits on Crusher! Meanwhile, the ship's attempts to save the planet make the problem worse. Data and Geordi come up with a new plan--but if the technobabble is just a wee bit off, it will burn off the planet's atmosphere. Picard tries to get the historian to tell him how things turn out--but he can't, since it would change history. Lots of philosophical speeches follow. In the end, Picard chooses to try--and because this is TV, it works. The historian attempts to leave, but Picard notes that items have disappeared (he's been collecting tech all over the ship)), and he demands to see his ship. Only Data is allowed on the ship--it turns out the "historian" is an inventor from the 22nd century that happened to get a hold of a timeship from the 26th century. The ship returns to it's own time without him. 
• Worf has some "New Ground" to cover--his son Alexander (Brian Bonsall) drops by with Worf's "Earthly" mother (Georgia Brown) for a visit. He happens to mention that he's not going back. Mom explains that they are too old to keep up with him, and that he needs to be with Worf. Alexander is a handful--he lies to his teacher. Worf's not the best dad either. There's also a subplot about a new type of propulsion that would mean building a huge facility on every planet--seems impractical. It goes badly, and Geordi has to save the day. This plot seems like "episode helper" to pad out the time. However, it does cause a fire that brings father and son together. In the end, Worf decides to keep Alexander on the Enterprise, making him the "Cousin Oliver" of TNG.
• Again with the kid episodes! In "Hero Worship", a derelict ship is found near a technobabble cluster with a single survivor--a child (Joshua Harris) that Data saves. The kid's parents were on the ship, so now he's alone. He imprints on the emotionless android, adopting his speech patterns and mannerisms. Data helps him through the process. Meanwhile, the ship goes into the cluster to find out what happened. The kid believes that he's the cause of the ship's destruction, but he couldn't have done it. He then helps Data figure out why the ship is being buffeted in the cluster--their shields are being reflected back at them, smashing into the ship. That's what destroyed the other ship. One other point--this episode is the Bermuda Triangle for guest actors. Harris did one other TV gig, then became a minor-league baseball player, and ended up producing. There's an ensign at the Conn position (Sheila Franklin) who played the same role three more times, playing a doctor in an earlier episode, then had one minor movie role, and then left the business.   

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Onto Season Five

Four seasons down, three to go...

• We begin with the resolution of "Redemption" from last season. Picard calls for a blockade so the Romulans can't help the Klingons, using an electronic "net" among the ships. There's not enough experienced crew for all the ships (remember the Borg?), so both Riker and Data and given their own commands. Meanwhile, the Klingons are fighting among themselves (how did they ever achieve spaceflight?). Data is having his own problems--his first officer refuses to work with him. We learn that the mysterious blond Romulan is Tasha's daughter--the one who went to the Enterprise-C in "Yesterday's Enterprise". Worf is kidnapped by Duras's sisters and offered a deal--of course, he refuses. Picard sets a trap, the Romulans pull a counter move, Data figures out how to find them even cloaked, and the Romulans retreat. The Klingon bad guys give up, and Worf returns to the Enterprise. Whew! There's just too many storylines going on here--it's a confusing episode.
• We forced ourselves to watch "Darmok"--an episode about language. An attempt to communicate with a bizarre race ends up with Picard and the alien captain (Paul Winfield) working together to survive on a planet. The race's language is all based on metaphor, which makes it hard for anyone not familiar with the references. The episode also introduces Picard's new uniform (which I have a copy of), a minor change to the show's logo, and a recurring minor character played by a then unknown Ashley Judd.
• The next episode introduces "Ensign Ro", played by Michelle Forbes. The Bajoran / Cardassian conflict is also introduced--it's the Palestine conflict IN SPAAACE. This concept is the basis for the DS9 series and influences Voyager. Ro is "assigned" to the Enterprise by a Starfleet admiral--she has a troubled past that resulted in a court martial--in order to stop Bajoran separatists that attacked a Federation settlement. Guinan ends up befriending her when no one else would. It turns out the admiral sent Ro to give weapons to the separatists. She opens up to Picard, who decides to play out the plan and "see what happens". In the end, Picard convinces Ro to stay on the Enterprise. They do make a big deal about Ro's earring and Starfleet "dress code", despite the fact that Worf wears a sash and Troi wears whatever she likes.
• The Crystalline Entity last seen in "Datalore" returns in "Silicon Avatar". It attacks a planet being colonized, wiping out all life (Riker and an away team survives in a cave). An expert on the entity, Kila Marr (played by Ellen Geer), comes on board--she detests Data, based on what she knows about Lore. Her son died on the same planet Data is from, and has spent her life tracking it down. The story turns into Moby Dick, with Marr as Ahab. In the end, she realizes that Data is nothing like Lore. Data, who has the memories of all his home world's colonists, reads her son's journals to her in his voice. Despite all this (or maybe because of this), she uses a method of communications to destroy the entity. Data, in an uncharacteristic rude moment, tells her his son would be saddened by hat she did.
• The next episode is worthy of Irwin Allen--it's a "Disaster". The ship is hit by some technobabble thingy which takes out ships power and causes lots of injuries. Fortunately, lots of interesting scenarios were set up beforehand. Picard is taking some kids on a tour of the ship, leaving Troi inadvertently in charge when the ship is hit. Crusher and LaForge are in a cargo hold with radioactive stuff. Keiko (who's suddenly very pregnant) and Worf are on Ten Forward. Picard gets the kids and himself out a broken turbolift, Riker and Data move from Ten Forward toward the bridge, but he's forced to take off Data's head to make it. Troi managed command very well, with help from O'Brien and Ro, despite having no clue what to do (She really needs Starfleet training). The doctor and the engineer depressurize the hold to get ride of the bad stuff, and Worf delivers Keiko's baby despite a lousy bedside manner.
• Speaking of disasters, Wesley's back in "The Game". He's on the Enterprise on vacation from the academy, and runs into officer Leffler (Ashley Judd again)--they hit it off. Meanwhile, Riker brought a new electronic game from Risa. It's very popular on the ship--it ties into your neural network and gives you a shot to your pleasure center when you win. It starts taking over the crew--at one point, Crusher takes out Data! It's a whole "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" vibe. Picard brings the Enterprise to meet a strange ship--it's the girl that gave RIker the game on Risa. They plan to send the game across the Federation. Data Ex Machina saves the day with a flashlight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some Angry Birds to play...

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Wrapping Up Season Four

• In "The Drumhead", there's an explosion on board, while secret info on the Enterprise is sent to the Romulans. An admiral (played by the celebrated film actress Jean Simmons) comes out of retirement to lead the investigation. She ends up starting a witch hunt against the Enterprise crew and Picard in particular. Both Mindy and I thought this episode was rather stilted--there's a lot of speech-making rather than dialogue.
• Lwaxana Troi is back in "Half a Life"--which means Picard is jumpy. She invites herself to a meeting with a reclusive alien scientist, played by David Ogden Stiers. Lwaxana has fallen in love with him--unfortunately, his race practices ritual suicide when they reach a certain age. Lwaxana insists Picard stop him, but the Prime Directive is in the way. Lwaxana breaks down in front of Deanna--a rare dramatic performance by Majel Barrett Roddenberry. Lwaxana manages to convince the scientist to live on, but his daughter (Michelle Forbes, in an early TV role--she'll be back as Ensign Ro Laren) comes onboard and reminds him of their way. He returns to his planet, and Lwaxana joins him for the "ceremony".  A much more subtle "message" episode than the previous one.
• Crusher is in love--which means her paramour is doomed.  In this case, she's infatuated with "The Host" (played by Franc Luz) of a symbiote. She only finds this out when he's critically injured. He's needed for delicate alien negotiations--they call for a new host from the same race, but it will take too long to get there, so Riker volunteers. Riker/Symbiote wants to continue their relationship, but she's confused. Troi's also in the mix, since Crusher asks for her advice--she obviously has mixed feelings. Unfortunately, Riker is dying from the treatments to keep the symbiote alive--he gets Crusher to agree to remove him from Riker. In the end, the new host arrives--and it's a woman. Crusher loses again.
• Geordi's on his way to Risa for shore leave after a seminar--in a shuttle. Of course, he gets attacked by Romulans in "The Mind's Eye". They capture him and go all "Clockwork Orange" on him, sending horrible images directly into his neural implants and brainwashing him. They then send him back to the Enterprise, where they are handling a diplomatic crisis with the Klingons. Data's monitoring strange transmissions, figures out that Geordi's visor is the receiver, and stops him from completing an assassination. In the end, the Klingon ambassador (Edward Wiley) turns out to be the turncoat.
• We get another character episode "In Theory". A crewwoman (played by Michele Scarabelli, best known for her work on Alien Nation) is getting out of a relationship while working with Data. She decides that he is so kind and generous that she initiates a romantic relationship. Of course, Data treats this as a scientific experiment, asking his friends what he should do. He makes the leap--or at least he writes a new subroutine for her, drawing from literature on the topic of love. He oscillates from charming to creepy, even starting a "lovers' quarrel" with her. She's clearly delusional--Data told her multiple times that all he can do is simulate his "love" for her. In the end, she cuts off the romance. There's also a technobabble crisis about dark matter and warps in space time, blah blah blah...
• We finish the season with another cliffhanger--this time, it's all about the Klingons. In "Redemption Part 1", Picard completes his duties as Arbiter that he began in "Sins of the Father", officially making Gowron (googly-eyed Robert O'Reilly) leader of the Klingon High Council. Worf is looking for his family's name to be cleared, there's intrigue with sisters of the traitor Duras (who Worf killed earlier), and the Romulans are sneaking around. Gowron initially refuses Worf's plea. but after Worf fights alongside him in a ship battle, he relents. Worf wants to fight in the inevitable civil war, but Picard says that's a conflict of interest as a Starfleet officer--so Worf resigns his commission. There's an impressive scene with the crew lined up in the corrdiors to honor Worf as he leaves the Enterprise. In the end, there's a big reveal--someone who looks a lot like Tasha as a Romulan (even has the Moe haircut) steps out of the shadows. TO BE CONTINUED...  

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Star Trek TNG: Even More Season 4

• We begin this batch of episodes with "First Contact", where we learn how the process actually works. Riker is on a planet incognito doing reconnaissance, and is badly injured. This forces Picard to move up plans for first contact, beaming in next to one of their chief scientists (Carolyn Seymour). She is accepting of the new arrivals, as is their chancellor (George Coe), but other are fearful, including the security minister (Michael Ensign). The episode centers around the new race rather than the regular cast.  It's a fascinating episode.
• We have a returning guest--Dr. Leah Brahms (Susan Gibney). Of course, the last time she was on the ship, it was as a hologram LaForge mocked up to help him. The real Brahms is officious--she wants to know why he has changed engine settings. LaForge overdoes a "date" with her (he always seems to do this), then finds out she's married. A space-based alien shows up and starts draining the ship's energy--Picard is forced to shoot it. The alien was about to give birth, so they help deliver "Galaxy's Child". Unfortunately, now "Junior" is draining the ship. Brahms wants to know more about the engine mods, so LaForge leaves her with his records--she finds the holodeck file and the other Brahms. After a fight, they manage to work together to save the ship--and we get the "sour the milk" reference used on other sci-fi shows.
• In "Night Terrors", the Enterprise comes upon a derelict ship--all aboard are dead except for a catatonic Betazoid. They determine that the ship--and the Enterprise--are stuck in a technobabble loop that drains their energy and stops them from dreaming (except for Troi). People start hallucinating things, and Data takes over the ship. Troi is able to contact the other Betazoid telepathically, and then figures out she can send a message to another ship in the loop. Together, they blow up the loop, and Data orders everyone to bed.
• Levar Burton must have complained he wasn't getting enough screen time--he stars on another episode, "Identity Crisis". Before he was on the Enterprise, LaForge was on an away mission, and now the members of that mission are going AWOL then disappearing. The only other remaining member of that mission (played by Maryann Plunkett) is also on the Enterrpise. A theory that aliens are abducting them is wrong--they are becoming aliens themselves. A parasite is changing their DNA, to the point that they are essentially invisible. The other affected officer tracks down LaForge on the planet using ultraviolet light. The makeup team put in a lot of hours in this episode.
• Barclay's back in "The Nth Degree". We start with Barclay (Dwight Schultz) in Crusher's drama group (do these people ever work?), and he's his normally bumbling self. During a mission, he gets blasted by an alien probe--suddenly, he's hyper-intelligent and hyper-confident. He even saves the ship from the probe. Now they have to fix an antenna array also affected by the probe--he can fix it far faster than they can. He ends up tying into the main computer via the holodeck--becoming one with the computer. Now he's sending them faster than the ship has ever gone. An alien super-intelligence (played by Kay E. Kuter) shows up--they're explorers too, bringing other races to them. Barclay is put back to normal(?).
• Q (John de Lancie) is back, as is Vash (Jennifer Hetrick) in "Qpid". The latter appears in Picard's quarters--there's an awkward moment when Crusher stops by. None of the officers have heard of her (Picard never brought her up). Q then shows up in his ready room--he wants to repay Picard for saving his life--Picard just wants him to leave. Vash and Picard have a spat, and Q realizes how he can repay them: put them in a classic adventure--say Robin Hood, with Vash as Maid Marian. She flips the script and works to save herself. In the end, Vash partners up with Q to explore the universe. It's a very fun episode.    

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 21

Let's finish up Season 5...

• Klink's in hot water again--it's "Standing Room Only". There's a jealous Kommandant from another camp, and he's there to learn from the Iron Colonel. He finds out how Klink cooks the books, and is about to rat him out. Meanwhile, Hogan has a lot of escaped prisoners in the tunnels. He solves the whole thing by getting some of the prisoners recaptured, and having others dressed as Germans take them away, along with the other Kommandant (Noam Pitlik, in one of his many Hogan roles).
• A beautiful German singer (Marlyn Mason) tells Hogan that the Gestapo has a double agent with info on all underground agents, which also puts their operation in danger. They put Hochstedder off the trail by giving him "Six Lessons from Madame LaGrange" (LeBeau). Howard Caine gets a chance to shine as he dances with Clary (although they are dancing a box step, and not the Foxtrot he's supposedly being taught).
• Burkhalter finds Schultz sleeping on the job, so it's off the the Russian Front for him. Unfortunately, Hogan has been suing him to ferry pieces of a map inside loaves of bread in "The Sergeants' Analyst". To save Schultz, Newkirk hypnotizes him to believes he's a leader of men. The boys then make Schultz look good--maybe too good...
• All the world loves a lover--and Klink, apparently. "The Merry Widow" calls for Wilhelm, mostly since she's an agent and he's unknowingly ferrying microfilm to her. When Hogan finds out it's the wrong film, they get her to call in Schultz. There's a even a Three's Company moment when both Klink and Schultz are in her apartment at the same time. Marj Dusay is back as the "widow".
• It's a return visit from "Critterdon's Commandos"--unfortunately, Crittendon (Bernard Fox) the only one that makes it through to Stalag 13. He was sent to capture Rommel (?!?), so Hogan and the boys step in to assist. Despite Crittendon's "help", they manage to swipe "the desert fox" from a local hospital. However, it turns out to be the one the Allies were going to trade for Rommel, so it all works out.
• The allies are trying to take out a bridge, Hogan is processing flyers who parachuted out, and Klink is entertaining another fraulein (Pamela Curran). Burkhalter arrives and cranks up security. In order to resolve the problem, Hogan gets Klink to LET them escape (in order to "discover" the prisoner escape center). They have to delay the operation until they're ready to blow up the bridge themselves, so Klink gives them more and more ludicrous opportunities. Finally, they give Klink what he wants in a "radio play" via the bugs in the barracks. Klink even provides German uniforms--Hogan's starting to wonder why he didn't do this in the first place in "Klink's Escape". The topper--Hogan has Newkirk drop the tracking device in Burkhalter's car, so Schultz and the troops break into the general's chalet--with the fraulein.                

Edward Knight had 6 Hogan roles, along with many others (Twelve O'Clock High, Wild Wild West, Mission: Impossible, Marcus Welby, The Rockford Files) in the 60's and 70's. He's probably better known as the father of Christopher Knight (Peter on The Brady Bunch).

We'll move onto Season 6 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: More of Season 4

Two character studies begin the next batch of episodes:

• In "The Loss", Troi's empathic abilities desert her. It turns into a standard medical drama, with Deanna going through the stages of grief like a newly blind person ("I'll be fine"--"get off my back"--what am i going to do?"). Finally, after some speeches from Picard, Riker, and Guinan, she decides to trust her human instincts--and just in time. She saves the ship from two-dimensional beings dragging the ship into a "cosmic string".
• "Data's Day" covers a day on the ship from the android's point of view. It's a rare look into the life of the ship's crew. We see the ship's barber shop, gift shop (what is this--a mall?), and have a dancing lesson with Beverly. The lesson is particularly amusing. Data can immediately pick up Crusher's lessons, although at one point we cut away to to a shot of their feet--Spiner can't keep up with McFadden, since she's a professional dancer in real life. We also meet Data's cat Spot, and a Vulcan ambassador who takes them into the neutral zone--she ends up being a Romulan spy (the Vulcan, not the cat--I could have skipped that part of the storyline). Then, it's the marriage of O'Brien and Keiko (Rosalind Chao, in her first appearance). Data is the "father" of the bride. We end up the day with the birth of a baby boy.
• "The Wounded" introduces the Cardassians, the main bad guys in the later DS9 series. The Cardassian captain is played by Marc Alaimo, who also played the first Romulan seen on TNG, and went onto a recurring role on DS9. O'Brien gets a big role in this episode, as his character has a history with the Cardassians. There's also a showdown with a Starfleet captain (Bob Gunton) who attacked Cardassians with little reason (following the rule that all Starfleet personnel not on the Enterprise are idiots or crazy).
• "Devil's Due" is a rewrite of an unused script from the aborted "Star Trek: Phase II" series, which means it was designed for Kirk, and it shows. A civilization is being threatened by a mythological devil (played by Marta DuBois) who appears to have magical powers. She even visits him in his quarters! Picard is convinced she's a con artist, using a transporter and holographic projection. So, he plays Daniel Webster (with Data's help) and takes her to court. In the end, Picard outcons the "Devil".
• We start "Clues" with the crew enjoying some leisure time--Picard is playing Dixon Hill, this time with Guinan. Both are doing horrible Noo Yawk accents for some reason. A wormhole appears that knocks everyone out (except for Data) for 30 seconds--no one is hurt. As they continue on, a number of minor mysteries keep popping up, indicating that a whole day elapsed while they were out--this makes Data a possible suspect. Picard decides to investigate, going back to the "scene of the crime". Troi goes to Data, sounding like a female Barry White. It turns out that an alien race doesn't want anyone to know about them--the wormhole was a ruse. Because Data wasn’t knocked out, he woke up the crew, and found Troi taken over by the aliens. They announce the ship must be destroyed, but if this happens, other ships will investigate. They come to a compromise--clean up the clues, knock out the crew again, and zapping their memories. Picard orders Data to keep it quiet. A bizarre episode.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 20

More of Season 5...

• The boys have to get weather reports to the Allies for a bombing run. So, they run a series of more and more ludicrous gags to send up balloons, ending in an anniversary party for Klink in "How's the Weather?" Shockingly, Klink actually starts suspecting something, which makes it even harder to pull off. In the end, Hogan gets Klink to guide the bombers via radio.
• Burkhalter's decided all Kommandants need to "Get Fit or Go Fight"--at the Russiian Front. Unfortunately, Hogan needs Klink to live it up in town in order to get critical plans to the allies. So, the boys try to get him into shape--although Carter has to step in as the german doctor, and Hogan has to step in as Klink for the real doctor.
• Guess who's coming to Stalag 13? Reich Marshall Goehring, along with a train of stolen paintings--and Marya (Nita Talbot). She plans to use Schultz as Goehrings' double. As usual, she doesn't let Hogan in on the plan--Goehring was never coming, and plans to use the boys to move the paintings off the train. Hochstedder is in the mix as well. Banner does a great Goehring (as if I would know). It's all in "Fat Hermann, Go Home".
• There's a boxing tournament at Stalag 13, and Kinchloe is the opponent. Like always, It's a ruse to get secret plans. Burkhalter orders Klink to make sure the Nazi wins--even by cheating. It's "The Softer They Fall". Hovis plays up the boxing announcer role.
• Burkhalter's niece is getting married, and Hogan becomes a wedding crasher to get information to an agent in "Gowns by Yvette". Of course, "Yvette" is LeBeau--Newkirk does the actual work--and they make a gown for the bride while Hogan meets with the informant. The agent gets nabbed by the Gestapo, so now they have to free him as well--Schultz steps in as the bride's double. The niece is played by Muriel Landers, seen in a number of TV comedy roles in the 1960's, and the groom is Mr. Whipple (Dick Wilson).
• On an underground mission, Carter gets lost--in a German uniform. He ends up in the German army! He apparently forgot it's "One Army at a Time". He gets a commendation and a promotion--for the wrong side. Hogan uses him to get back their dynamite, and Carter drives a tank to finish the job. Hovis really gets a chance to shine in this episode. At one point, they lay on the sound effects a bit too thick to indicate a cold night, and it sounds like Superman's in the area.

Walter Janowitz played Schnitzer the dog catcher on 12 episodes of the show, as well as a peddler on one episode. He had guest roles from the 60's to the 80's including Mister Ed, I Spy, Barney Miller, and WKRP in Cincinnati. 

We'll finish up Season 5 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: Season 4 Continues

Season 4 rolls on...

• Has Dr. Crusher goes cuckoo? Her old mentor comes on the ship, then mysteriously disappears. Then, more and more crew members are gone--but the remaining members and the ship's computers say everything is fine. It's all because of a warp experiment Wesley is running (stupid Wesley!). Eventually, it's down to Dr. Crusher and Picard--and then he's gone. Beverly figures out she's inside a warp bubble--and it's shrinking to the point the "universe" is smaller than the ship! Meanwhile, in the real universe, Wesley contacts "The Traveler" from an earlier episode, and together they use magic and gobbledygook to create a doorway between the worlds in "Remember Me". Gates McFadden does a great job as paranoid, then fearful, then resolute.
• A Federation ship crashes on Tasha Yar's home planet in "Legacy", so it's the Enterprise to the rescue. The planet is in shambles after a long war. They happen to run into Ishara Yar, Tasha's sister (played by Beth Toussaint). She supposedly wants to help them, but of course she's really working for her old Cadre. She also gets a chance to demo Seven of Nine's catsuit fashion. This episode is significant in that once it aired, TNG surpassed TOS in terms of longevity. There's a reference in the show to "Camus II", which was the planet in the final TOS episode "Turnabout Intruder".
• K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) is back with her--and Worf's--son (Jon Paul Steuer) in "Reunion". She's there to meet with Picard--the Klingons are near civil war, and the current Chancellor (played by Charles Cooper) is hear death. He's been poisoned, and wants Picard to determine who will succeed him--and to find out who killed him. The bad guy Duras (Patrick Massett) is one of the candidates, and the other is the Barney Google-eyed Gowron (Robert O'Reilly). There's the normal Klingon ceremony and an assassination attempt. K'Ehleyr is also snooping around to find out why Worf was officially shunned by the Empire (as seen in a previous episode), since Worf is using that as a reason to refuse to perform the mating ritual with her. For her efforts, she is killed by Duras. Worf retaliates, killing Duras with his bat'leth. With no other candidate, Gowron becomes Chancellor. Worf sends his son to live with his adopted parents.
• In "Future Imperfect", Riker gets pulled away with from a birthday party to lead an away team to a planet's cavern--a possible old Romulan base. The team is quickly overcome with fumes, and Riker awakens to realize that 16 years has passed--he's now the captain. Crusher gives him some medical doubletalk about a weird virus that makes him lose his memory. Admiral Picard shows up and tells him that a Romulan - Federation peace treaty is imminent, with Riker needing to be front and center. He also meets his son (Chris Demetral), playing the trombone. Of course, it's all a ruse--he's on a Romulan holodeck. They wanted to get info on a secret base. Riker figures it out when he sees his old holodeck girlfriend as his now dead wife, and Data uses a contraction. Then he realizes he's in yet another fantasy--by an alien child who just wanted him to stick around. There's a lot of grey hair and different hairstyles in the episode, along with slightly different uniforms.
• It's Wesley's "Final Mission" (YAY!). He's been accepted at the Academy, but first he's going with Picard on a mission. The Enterprise has to go on a rescue mission, so they are forced to use an alien shuttle (why not use an Enterprise shuttle?), which ends up crashing on a desert planet. They make it to a cave, but Picard is injured while saving Wesley from a cave-in caused by bizarre energy. Wesley manages to get the water they need, but not before Stewart and Wheaton give their audition monologues. Also, the planet shots on this episode look particularly cheap--like beach balls.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 19

Hogan Season 5 continues...

• Klink's getting blackmailed by a Gestapo agent due an incriminating "Big Picture", so the boys have to sneak out to a hotel to get the negative. Sandy Kenyon plays the blackmailer. He served in the US Army Air Corps in WWII, had recurring roles on the Dick Van Dyke Show, and was a familiar face on TV from the 50's to the 80's. He passed away in 2010.
• There's a top secret device on a crashed plane, and Hogan needs to get it--how? Set up a casino in Stalag 13--it's "The Big Gamble". They switch the device with a fake one while the Nazi scientist (Chet Stratton) plays roulette. This episode also introduces the long-running "Winter Relief" subplot--Klink's the local chairman.
• Two recurring guests--Harold J. Stone and Arlene Martel--play a defecting Field Marshal and his secretary in the obviously named "The Defector". Of course, Hogan and the boys have to get him out of Germany. Hochstedder shows up to increase the level of difficulty. One Field Marshal in the cooler and a blown up car later... I love Howard Caine's facial expressions during this episode.
• It's another Nazi with a briefcase chained to his wrist--this it's Parley Baer, better known his "country" roles such as The Andy Griffith Show and Petticoat Junction. Hogan wants the briefcase, so he cons Klink and Hochstedder that an enemy agent has come into camp via "The Empty Parachute". Once they get the case, Hogan realizes it's booby trapped, so they call London for help.  There's a rare dramatic moment while Hogan disarms the bomb.
• There's vital Allied info that needs to get all over Europe, so the obvious answer is to get Klink into the cuckoo clock business. While he gets "The Antique" business started, Burkhalter's worried that Klink's going to get bumped off (he would be next). It ends with a load of clocks in a closet, a suspicious general, and a wet Klink. It's a great episode for Leon Askin. 
• Berlin Betty (Antoinette Bower, returning to the show) drops by Stalag 13 to find out "Is There a Traitor in the House?". We've been over this storyline before--this time, it's Newkirk that acts as the traitor, in order to use her broadcast to get a message to the Allies.
• Burkhalter assigns Klink to guard an experimental nuclear plant (?!?!), and Hogan wants to know where it is. To find out, they give Schultz truth serum--but he only tells them about food. Well, "At Last--Schultz Knows Something". They figure it out though, and pose as farmers to use potato bombs to take out the plant.       

Ben Wright played multiple bad guys on the show, including on "The Big Gamble" episode. His prolific career began in radio, and was considered a dialect expert, including Indian, Chinese, Cockney, and Arabian. He was Herr Zeller in The Sound of Music, had guest roles on The Twilight Zone, Get Smart, and My Three Sons, and did a great deal of voice work, especially in Disney films. His last role was in The Little Mermaid in 1989, the year he passed away.    

More of Season 5 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: Season 4 Begins

We begin with the conclusion of the big cliffhanger...

• "The Best of Both Worlds" begins with Riker's desperate gambit. Unfortunately, it's useless--now that the Borg have Picard (now called Locutus), they know everything Picard knows, so they are ready. The Borg continue toward Earth, Riker is made Captain, Shelby is made First Officer, and the Federation braces for the attack. The last item doesn't go well--the fleet is taken out easily. Riker comes up with a complicated plan that retrieves Locutus (it involves losing a shuttle--they seem to have an unlimited budget for those). Data and Dr. Crusher figure out they can interface with Locutus, and send a signal back to the Collective. Data puts them to sleep just as Riker is about to ram the Borg cube. Picard is extricated from the Borg implants, and all is well--or is it?
• The big crossover is followed by "Family"--a character driven episode (I'm sure they needed an inexpensive episode to counter the SFX budget of the last two). While the ship is repaired, Picard returns to France, Worf is visited by his parents (played by Theodore Bikel and Georgia Brown), and Beverly deals with a recorded message from Jack Crusher to Wesley. Picard is considering leaving Starfleet, and the relationship between Picard and his brother (played by Jeremy Kemp) is strained until they have it out--literally. Picard breaks down about how he couldn't stop the Borg from controlling him. This episode is also significant because a) Brent Spiner does not appear; b) no scene is shot on the bridge; and c) Miles O'Brien is fully named for the first time.
• Now we know why Data wasn't in the last episode, since he gets triple billing in "Brothers". Data suddenly goes nuts, taking over the bridge and sending the ship to a strange planet. It's fascinating how Data outwits Picard and the others. It turns out he was under control of his creator, Dr. Soong, also played by Spiner--it reminded Mindy of The Princess Bride (Good luck storming the castle!). Soong has also accidentally called in Data's brother Lore. Soong has an "emotion chip" to add to Data, which of course Lore gets, and then Soong dies. There's a subplot about two kids on the ship, one of whom needs emergency medical attention. I'm surprised the Federation hasn't rethought the "kids on the ship" policy, especially after the Borg attack.
• We get a so-so episode in "Suddenly Human". A small ship is rescued with some alien boys--and a human (played by Chad Allen). He was "rescued" after a raid by an alien race, and has been assimilated into their society. Of course, he's the grandson of a Federation admiral, so they particularly want him back. The alien captain (played by Sherman Howard) considers the boy to be his son. There's a subplot about child abuse, Picard trying to act as a surrogate parent, and silly flashbacks. There's also some strange blocking at the start of the episode--Troi is hanging onto the bridge railing, and then is in front of the railing facing away from the camera a few seconds later.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Richard Dawson 1932-2012

Richard Dawson passed away yesterday at age 79 from complications related to esophageal cancer. This leaves Robert Clary as the last surviving Hogan's Heroes cast member. In lieu of a normal blog entry, I decided to repeat my earlier entry on Mr. Dawson. 

Richard Dawson (Cpl. Newkirk) came to the US after a successful career as a comedian in the UK, with his wife at the time, Diana Dors (considered to be England's answer to Marilyn Munroe). He got his big break on the Dick Van Dyke show, with several guest appearances following that. According to an interview he did for the DVD set, he originally auditioned for the role of Hogan, but it didn't work out. After Hogan's Heroes, he moved on to Laugh-In, the New Dick Van Dyke Show, and guest hosting Johnny's Carson's Tonight Show. During that time, he moved into game shows--specifically, Match Game. He became a regular, and was chosen so often for the "Super Match" that they changed the rules of the game to give others a chance. In fact, he became so popular, he was offered a hosting gig. He was on Family Feud from 1976-85, with an encore in 1994-95. He also played a version of his game show persona in the Schwarzenegger vehicle The Running Man.

Klink Meets Batman

I mentioned earlier that Werner Klemperer appeared--in character--on the Adam West Batman series. They often had cameos when the Caped Crusaders climbed up a wall. There were so many celebrities clamoring to be on the show, and there's only so many guest super villain spots to go around Here's the clip--enjoy!

Star Trek TNG: Season 3 Concludes

Season 3 concludes with a cliffhanger that changes the series (and Trek as a whole) forever.

• "Tin Man" is another character study. Guest star Harry Groener plays a Betazed who can communicate with an ancient creature that lives in space. His advanced telepathy makes him a pariah to the galaxy. Groener spends most of time in the theater, but had guest roles on three Trek series, a recurring role on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and was a regular on Dear John.
• "Hollow Pursuits" introduces Reginald Barclay to TNG. He was a needed spot of comedy on the series once Data became a more important character. Barclay is played by Dwight Schultz, who played a very different role as "Howling Mad" Murdock on The A-Team. He spends most of his time doing voice work in cartoons today. Barclay spends less time on his duties than on the holodeck with a virtual Troi. I'm curious how Geordi and Riker walk in on his holodeck fantasy--I thought Barclay would lock the door.
• A rich collector (Saul Rubineck) decides he wants Data in his collection in "The Most Toys". Data uses passive then active resistance against his foe. Rubineck had guest roles on dozens of TV shows including a recurring role on Frasier, and now plays Artie on Warehouse 13.
• Two generations unite as "Sarek" of Vulcan boards the Enterprise-D. Spock's father is leading one more diplomatic mission for the Federation. Unfortunately, a medical condition is robbing him of his emotional control, and it's infecting the crew. There's even a classic barroom fight in Ten-Forward! In the end, Picard offers to mind-meld with Sarek to give him emotional strength. Stewart gives a great performance as he processes the Vulcan's emotions. Mark Lenard reprises his role as Sarek. We'll see him again later in the series. Joanna Miles plays his second wife, Perrin (while Jane Wyatt, who played his first wife Amanda, was still alive at the time, her character would not have been by that time).
• Mix Ferengis and Lwaxana Troi, and you get wackiness. In "Menage a Troi", a Ferengi "diplomat" falls in love with Deanna's mother. Also, having a telepath on your side is a great way to make money. So, her decides to kidnap her AND Deanna AND Riker. Deanna's off duty wardrobe is as inappropriate as her uniform-looks like an 80's version of future fashion. Meanwhile, Wesley is ready to go to Starfleet Academy (yay!), but decides to stay on the ship (boo!), so Picard gives him a field promotion (huh?). At least it's the end of those ugly Wesley sweaters. Majel Barrett Roddenberry reprises the role of Lwaxana, and Ethan Phillips plays one of the Ferengi--he later plays Neelix on Voyager.
• Gates McFadden finally gets a reason to come back to the series--she wasn't getting a lot of screen time. In "Transfigurations", Dr. Crusher treats a mysterious alien with amnesia. Of course, he turns out to be a wanted criminal on his planet--poor Beverly! On the other hand, he appears to be a god-like being that can bring people back to life. Mark La Mura plays "John Doe". He's been on a lot of recent TV--Law & Order: SVU and Criminal Intent, 30 Rock, and Damages.
• We've made it to the defining moment of TNG--"The Best of Both Worlds". Considered by many to be the best Trek episode ever (certainly better than all the TNG films combined), it brings the Borg into the ongoing storyline, defines both the Picard and Riker characters, and brings us our first real cliffhanger to end the season. Riker is offered another commission as Captain, while new young officer Shelby (played by Elizabeth Dennehy) is gunning for his old job. The Borg attack, and Picard is kidnapped and turned onto a Borg. A lot of desperate weaponry changes are made, to no avail. In the end, Riker decides to take out the Borg, and....DUMM--DUMM--DUMM--TO BE CONTINUED...

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan Heroes - Part 18

And we're back, moving into Hogan Season 5...

• In a highly unlikely opening (but necessary for the plot), the boys are watching a war movie in the barracks. Klink wants to make a film about the "true" Stalag 13, and can do it with his new prisoner--the star of the film. Alan Oppenheimer is back as the pompous movie star. Schultz gets to play Klink in the "film", and Burkhalter becomes the producer. Of course, it's all a diversion for sabotage activities as "Hogan Goes Hollywood".
• There's a secret codebook Hogan wants his hands on, so they send Newkirk to break into Klink's safe. Unfortunately, it ends up in "The Well". One blown up waterworks, a fake escape, and a greased up Carter later... At one point, they mention Carter has to go down half a mile into the well, and a moment later, they have to drop him back in--how does that not kill him?
• Marya is back, and she's brought along a Count! He's on his way to the Russian Front with a attache case chained to his wrist. An attempt to get the case turns into a trap, a trip, and a suicide mission for Klink and the boys--they are "The Klink Commandos". The Count is played by Frank Marth, best known for his recurring role on "The Honeymooners".
• The Nazis have opened a gas station--at Stalag 13--and the boys need to take it out in "The Gasoline War". Dawson even gets to do the little old lady bit again. Of course, there's also the prerequisite beautiful agent, played by Marianna Hill, who also was on Star Trek and appeared in the Elvis Presley film "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" among others.
• Burkhalter's sister returns--Kathleen Freeman is back in the role--so Hogan and the boys kidnap her to swap for an underground agent. It's an "Unfair Exchange". As it normally goes when Frau Linkmeyer arrives, the episode script could just as easily be used on any 60's TV show.
• Hogan uses Klink as a courier for important papers, but it doesn't go well. The Gestapo finds him with the papers, so "The Kommandant Dies at Dawn" unless the boys can spring him. The Field Marshal for the week is played by Ned Wertimer, who must have been trying out uniforms for his role of Ralph the Doorman on The Jeffersons.
• There's a new Nazi "Bombsight" that could end the war--so Hogan's got to get the plans (why do they always pick Stalag 13?). Several failed attempts later, he decides to discredit the demo instead. For a 60's sitcom, there's quite a large number of explosion effects as the camp is bombed.

Cast info:

Harold J. Stone played three roles during the series. He had hundreds of television guest roles from the 50's to the 80's, including westerns and crime shows, but only had one regular TV role--on Bridget Loves Bernie. He passed away in 2005.

More of Season 5 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon.

Star Trek TNG: Season 3 Is Getting Good

In the episodes below, the show has a turning point and matures as a series.

• "Yesterday's Enterprise" is considered to be one of the best episodes of the series. The Enterprise D runs into the Enterprise C--and the timeline changes as a result. Now the Federation is in a 20 year war, and the Enterprise C needs to go back to face certain death in order to make things right. Guinan is the only one who notices the difference. One other factor--Tasha is alive in the new timeline. 
  • The other guest stars are Tricia O'Neil as the Captain Rachel Garrett and Christopher McDonald as her helmsmen, who falls in love with Tasha.
  • Tricia began work as a model, then had a number of TV roles, including both TNG and DS9, with her last role on JAS in 2001.
  • Christopher had a number of guest and regular roles including the Dean Cain Superman series, Veronica's Closet, Family Law, and Harry's Law.
• "The Offspring" is a Data-centric episode. He's created an android daughter, Lal, Of course, a stupid Starfleet "expert" wants to take her away (Starfleet members outside of the Enterprise crew are usually idiots, insane, or evil). Lal is played with great subtlety by Hallie Todd. She had a regular role on the early Showtime series "Brothers", but is best known as the TV mother of Lizzie McGuire.
• It's another officer exchange program--this time, a Klingon (played by Tony Todd) comes on the Enterprise as first officer. He also happens to be Worf's brother, and they team up to save their father's reputation on the Klingon homeworld. The episode also ties into events in Star Trek VI. Tony has had a number of TV roles, mostly on genre shows (Andromeda, Stargate, Smallville, Xena).
• Picard gets the ol' switcheroo in "Allegiance"--he's beamed to a holding cell while a doppelganger runs his ship. He's stuck with members of three other races, played by Stephen Markle, Reiner Schone, and Jocelyn O'Brien, so he has to figure out how to escape, and who's the bad guy. Meanwhile, the faux Picard is singing on Ten-Forward and dating Crusher. We even get a rare kiss between the Captain and the Doctor.
• It's a "Captain's Holiday" for a worn out Picard. Of course, it's never that simple--there's a mysterious woman named Vash (Jennifer Hetrick, later seen as the same character on DS9, and per Memory Alpha, was at one point engaged to Patrick Stewart!), a Ferengi (Max Grodenchik, later to play Rom on DS9), time travelers, and an even more mysterious disk.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Breakfast with the Munsters

When you think of breakfast cereals, you immediately think of the Munsters. Here, Herman has some problems around 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Enjoy! 

Star Trek TNG: More Season 3

After a short hiatus, we're back with more Next Gen reviews...

• If "The Vengeance Factor" wasn't about alien warring clans, it could be a police procedural. A girl can kill specific people by touch, based on their DNA. Crusher figures it out, but Riker has fallen on love with her by that point.
• There's some powerful overacting in "The Detector", mostly by James Sloyan as the titular Romulan. He played several alien roles on various Trek series, and was the voice of the Lexus commercials until 2009. He now does commercials for Mitsubishi.
• There's a bit of star power in "The Hunted", a story of military experiments and post-traumatic stress syndrome. James Cromwell plays the prime minister. He is a prolific actor going back to the 1970s, played Zephram Cochran on Tren film and television, and recently played the butler to the lead in the Academy Award winning The Artist. Jeff McCarthy plays the soldier--he had multiple Trek roles as well as those on Broadway, including a title role in Beauty and the Beast and the musical Chicago.
• Message coming in--TNG tackles terrorism in "The High Ground". Crusher is abducted by alien separatists, who turn out to need her help to cure the side effects of a transporter variant. Their leader is played by Marc Buckland--he only had a few onscreen roles before he moved behind the camera as an executive producer.
• It's "Deja Q"--except this time he has no powers. He's been kicked out of the continuum. He needs the Enterprise's help to survive, and they need him--they've got a planet to save from a rogue moon. John De Lancie is both wacky and emotive in the role of Q. We also meet another Q, played by Corbin Bernsen. He's now on Psych.
• It's Rashomon meets holodeck in "A Matter of Perspective". Riker is accused of murder, so they generate little "plays" with different views of what happened. Take the sci-fi elements out of it, and this could be any crime series. The episode also features Picard enjoying one of his hundreds of hobbies--in this case, painting. 

The show is about to ramp up big time--some of the best episodes are coming. Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Netflix--more to come!

Hogan's Heroes - Part 17

Repooooort! More Hogan...

• Hogan has to go to the hospital (with a fake illness) in order to meet up with a wounded agent. He's "Up in Klink's Room". Victoria Carroll plays the nurse--she had six different roles on Hogan, and then spent most of her time doing cartoon voice roles.
• Hovis gets a chance to (over)act, since he has to handle live ammo--nitroglycerine, to be exact--in "The Purchasing Plan". The only remarkable thing about this episode is the poor quality of the DVD transfer. Just the vagaries of old TV shows, I guess.
• Marya (Nita Talbot) is back--this time with Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod). He's got a Nazi superweapon, and he wants Hogan to witness its use and tell the Allies about it. Of course, Marya is only interested in getting the Russian scientist (Larry D. Mann) back, so it's up to Hogan to take out the rocket in "The Witness".
• The Nazis have a new superradar, and they want to test it at--wait, don't tell me--Stalag 13. There's also a beautiful (as always) British scientist involved, played by Karen Steele. She had guest television roles from the 50's to the end of the 60's (including Star Trek). Hogan has to take our the weapon and the girl in "The Big Dish".
• It's the "Return of Major Bonacelli"--except now he's Vito Scotti. He was the go to foreign accent guy for over 40 years, including Peter Gunn, Bonanza, Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Addams Family, The Brady Bunch, Happy Days, CHiPs, and Mad About You.   Here he's a walking Italian stereotype. There's also a strange music loop in the opening credits--not sure if it was an error or actually intended.
• What do you get a colonel/superspy who has everything? An ammo dump!  Unfortunately, it's a trap, so it's no "Happy Birthday, Dear Hogan". Barbara Babcock is the guest star/beautiful underground agent. She was a mainstay on TV from the 60's to the 90's, with her last role (so far) on Judging Amy in 2004. She also had no less than 5 guest spots on Star Trek, and won an Emmy for her work on Hill Street Blues.

Cast info:

David Morick played minor guard and Gestapo roles on 17 episodes of the series. He had many guest roles from the 60's to the 80's, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, THe Doris Day Show,  The Six Million Dollar Man, and The A-Team, with his last in Amen (1988). He passed away in 1997.

That finishes the season--onto Season 5 next time. Remember, you can play along! The DVD box set is available on Amazon. 

A Mayberry commercial

I recently brought you an early TV commercial where sitcom stars IN CHARACTER pushed a product. Here's another one, with Andy Taylor telling Opie about Post Toasties. Aunt Bee even has a line. Keep in mind the kid here is now an Academy Award winner. There are several ads from the Andy Griffith Show hawking cereal available on the web. Enjoy!