Jazz on a Summer's Evening

Started off a hazy blue morning with breakfast and the last two episodes on disc 4 of Hogan's Heroes season 1. Hogan gets Klink to believe he's a "Psychic Kommandant" when he claims they're doing experiments on ESP. What they're really doing is trying to figure out how to sabotage a new noiseless plane before the German high command shows up to see it in flight.

Kinch gets a rare chance in the spotlight as "The Prince from the Phone Company." The others convince him to replace an African prince before he can accept a bribe from the Germans. They want to use that bribe money to process escapees. Kinch is more interested in the Prince's gorgeous and intelligent American wife. 

Switched to Match Game '75 while I got my laundry organized. The contestant jumped around so hard after she got the right answer for the Audience Match, Gene said she literally broke the set under that shag carpeting. Later, the audience really loved the other contestant's answer to what prints the cops were taking from Lola the Stripper.

Headed out after the episode ended. Despite the hot and humid day, I really needed to get my laundry done. The weather must have scared everyone off. The laundromat was dead the entire time I was there. Dunkin' Donuts finally reopened their lobby. I bought a Vanilla Bean Coolatta there, then walked two blocks down the street to the Oaklyn Library once I dropped the laundry in the dryer. The librarian chatted with an older lady while I took out two British mysteries set in the early-mid 20th century, London Calling and A Dangerous Engagement. 

Had lunch and put the laundry away while watching one the final two-part episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Goofy accidentally makes all the stories in the Clubhouse disappear, so he travels into "Goofy's Fairy Tale" to find the magic Golden Storybook that will release them. He helps the Pied Piper round up his ducks, convinces Hansel Mouse and Gretel Mouse that the Cow Witch isn't so scary, and shows Daisy the Beauty that Beast Pete isn't as mean as he claims he is. 

Made the bed (including a newly-clean sheet) after switching to another Disney fantasy, The Adventures of the Gummi Bears. "The Sinister Sculptor" has a magic potion that freezes Zummi, Sunni, Cubbi, and Tummi into sculptures. Grammi and Gruffi put aside their perpetual bickering long enough to rescue them. "Zummi Like It Hot" when elder bear Zummi memorizes a new lamp-lighting spell. It proves to be more useful than he thinks when he, Sunni, Cubbi, and their human friend Calvin to dodge ogres long enough to find out what's cutting off their water supply.

Laid down for a rest as Tattletales came on. Hilariously combative Mitzi McCall and Charlie Brill and George Hamilton and his sophisticated wife Alania were the big winners today, over R&B legend James Brown and his wife Deirdre. I slept through a lot of Press Your Luck, but I did wake up in time to see a young man win a wad of cash with no Whammies.

Managed to get some writing in after the show ended. The head of the Cheshire Catwoman (Lee Merriweather) appears as Jack (Klugman) the Red Knight tries to kiss a confused Brett. He dashes off before she can ask questions. Lee explains how the Red King is more interested in trying to butter up Queen Betty (White) and take her kingdom from her than in playing croquet and chopping off heads; he also wants Sir Richard (Dawson) the White Knight out of the way.

Broke for dinner at quarter of 7. Made Italian Stove-Top Casserole with summer vegetables, cooking wine, dried herbs, tomato sauce, and ground turkey and a sweet corn on the cob while watching Match Game '76. Betty White's delighted to have her beloved mother Tess back in the audience after having missed shows due to illness. Meanwhile, the others try to help the new champ figure out "__ Train" in the Audience Match.

Ironically, Ted "Issac" Lange from The Love Boat joined sweet (and very blonde) Susan Richardson, deadpan Robert Donner, and Joyce Bulifant in a fluffy purple jacket for tonight's Match Game PM. It kicked off with everyone teasing Lange over his "sissy" Russian pin he got during the making of an episode. Meanwhile, the contestants had a harder time figuring out where Jackie the comic got all his bad jokes from (Joyce got a great crack at Richard Dawson in that one) and Susan had to figure out how to deal with the winner's odd answer to "__ Tennessee." 

I have no clue why Sale of the Century jumped back to the beginning of the run with that young man who won everything on the board. Though the other man did get two Fame Games, he got the third fame game and blasted through the Speed Round. You can imagine he was utterly ecstatic to win the sports car on the Match the Prizes board. 

(Oh, and rumor has it that the bizarre 1979 game show Whew! will be joining Buzzr, I'm guessing sometime this fall. I'm always open to more Tom Kennedy, and considering how strange that show is, it could really jazz up their evening or weekend schedules. At the least, I can guarantee that it's like nothing else currently running on the network.)

Finished the night online after a shower with Jazz on a Summer's Day. I go further into this early concert film depicting the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Musical Documentaries - Jazz on a Summer's Day