Way Out
Way Out was a 1961 fantasy and science fiction television anthology series hosted by writer Roald Dahl. The macabre 25-minute shows were introduced by Dahl's dry delivery of a brief introductory monologue, sometimes explaining a method of murdering a spouse without getting caught. The taped series began because CBS suddenly needed a replacement for a Jackie Gleason talk show that network executives were about to cancel, and producer David Susskind contacted Dahl to help mount a show quickly. The series was paired by the network with the similar The Twilight Zone for Friday evening broadcasts, running from March through July 1961 at 9:30 p.m. Eastern time, under the primary sponsorship of Liggett & Myers. Writers included Philip H. Reisman, Jr. and Sumner Locke Elliott. The premiere episode, "William and Mary", adapted from a Roald Dahl short story, told of a wife getting revenge on her husband. In "Dissolve to Black", an actress cast as a murder victim at a television studio goes through a rehearsal, but the drama merges with reality as she finds herself trapped on the show's near-deserted set. Other dramas offered startling imagery: a snake slithering up a carpeted staircase inside a suburban home, a disembodied brain in a jar, a headless woman strapped to an electric chair, with a light bulb in place of her head and half of a man's face erased.
Marc Daniels
Daniel Petrie
Paul Bogart
Boris Sagal
Robert Van Scoyk
Mel Ferber
Seymour Robbie
Ron Winston
Jerome Ross
Also Directed by Marc Daniels
Amanda's is an American sitcom inspired by the 1970s British sitcom Fawlty Towers. Amanda's aired on ABC from 10 February 1983 to 26 May 1983 on Thursday nights at 8:30. Bea Arthur starred as the main character, Amanda Cartwright. Amanda was the owner of a seaside hotel called "Amanda's by the Sea" whose staff included her son Marty, his spoiled wife Arlene, Earl the chef and Aldo the bellhop. This was Bea Arthur's first return to series television since Maude ended in 1978. Other stars appearing on Amanda's included Jerry Stiller, Leonard Stone and Todd Susman. The show was filmed in front of a live studio audience at ABC Studios, 4151 Prospect Avenue in Hollywood, California. Amanda's was cancelled in May 1983 after a four-month run of ten episodes, three more episodes remaining unaired by ABC. A&E network broadcast reruns of the show shortly thereafter.
Jigsaw is a short-lived television crime drama program, aired on the ABC network as an element of the wheel series The Men as part of its 1972-73 lineup. Universal Television produced this element; they had also produced the series which inspired The Men: The NBC Mystery Movie.
A waiter becomes a sudden overnight success as a playwright, and then begins negotiations with an Italian movie director to turn his play into a film. The results are unexpected.
Advertising executive, Alex Grier, is fired and is unable to find another position, being over-qualified. His wife, Annabelle, with no experience, is hired by the Freddie Fox agency when she uses her husband's résumé to get the job. He remains at home, raising their three children, coaxing his wife while trying to write the "great American novel."
The Fitzpatricks is an American drama series which ran on CBS during the 1977–78 season. The series aired from September 5th, 1977 to January 10th, 1978. This show lasted only thirteen episodes, and was cancelled in 1978.
The Long, Hot Summer is an American drama series that was broadcast on ABC-TV for one season from 1965-1966. Created by Dean Riesner, The Long, Hot Summer was based on the novel The Hamlet by William Faulkner, the short story "Barn Burning", and the 1958 film of the same name.
Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable doctor who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986.
The Campbell Playhouse is a live CBS radio drama series directed by and starring Orson Welles. Produced by John Houseman, it was a sponsored continuation of The Mercury Theatre on the Air. The series offered 60-minute adaptations of classic plays and novels, plus some adaptations of popular motion pictures. After the departure of Welles at the end of the second season, The Campbell Playhouse changed format as a 30-minute weekly series that ran for one season. The Campbell Playhouse is also the title of an NBC television series later called Campbell Soundstage and Campbell Summer Soundstage.
Charled Dicken's tale A Christmas Carol takes a contemporary jolt in this original musical set in modern-day Tennessee. Cyrus Flint is a mean old banker whose one and only concern is the welfare of Flint City Bank. Dennis and Laura Pritchett are two parents struggling to make enough money to pay for an operation their son needs. Flint is organizing a songwriting and singing contest with a $2000 first prize to promote his bank.
Also Directed by Daniel Petrie
Based on the true story of Bill W. (James Woods), a successful stock broker whose life falls apart after the stock crash of the 20's and how he comes to grips with his alcoholism. Along with a fellow alcoholic (James Garner) he forms a support group that would eventually become Alcoholics Anonymous.
When an underwater ocean lab is lost in a earthquake, an advanced submarine is sent down to find it and encounters terrible danger.
A Roman Catholic teenage boy in Glace Bay, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia during the 1930s faces various growing-up problems: Should be become a priest? What should he do about the murder he witnessed, committed by a local cop and upstanding parishioner? And how far should he go with his girl friend, who happens to be the murderer's daughter?
In the days of the "Wild West," a gunslinger, with a price on his head, discovers the body of a traveling minister who has been killed in an ambush. Fearing those who are following him, he assumes the dead minister's identity.
Mistreated foundling Heathcliff and his stepsister Catherine fall in love, but when she marries a wealthy man, he becomes obsessed with getting revenge, even well into the next generation.
The story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, from early youth to his election as President of the United States, as told from Eleanor's point of view.
Movie based on the true story of Helen Keller, now an adult, and her teacher, Annie Sullivan. Their close relationship is threatened when John Macy, a caring young professor at the college Helen attends, comes between them. John and Annie fall in love and marry and the two women must choose what is more important — the love between a man and woman or the bond between the two of them.
This is a musical version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". Ebenezer Scrooge is given a chance to reform and save his soul. He is visited by 4 ghosts and is shown visions of his past life and the consequences of his life on others.
Sprawling tale spanning 50 years in the life of the fictional Linthorne family as seen through the eyes of the rugged head of the clan as he and his wife weather the years of hardship on the prairie after settling on a parcel of untilled Midwestern farmland in 1866 in hopes of living a prosperous life together.
The struggle between a father and son at odds over the youths career choice. The 18 years old James Pfeiffer quits college and decides to become a fisherman like his father. Margaret and Russell are very upset with their son's decision. They had a lot of hopes for him, finishing law school and, like his older brother Joseph, make a decent living on shore rather than an uncertain and dangerous career at sea. But James dreams of having his own boat and is determined to persevere.
Also Directed by Paul Bogart
Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound" is the Final Chapter of his acclaimed trilogy that began with "Biloxi Blues" and "Brighton Beach Memoirs".
A very personal story that is both funny and poignant, TORCH SONG TRILOGY chronicles a New Yorker's search for love, respect and tradition in a world that seems not especially made for him.
The life of a young man growing up in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina during the early part of the 20th century, based on Thomas Wolfe's autobiographical novel of the same name.
John Cheever's wry comedy of errors comes to the screen in this filmed presentation from the Broadway Theatre Archive. An upper-middle-class suburb is turned upside-down by the apparent kidnapping of Toby Wooster (Garrett Hanf). Unaware that the whole thing is a setup, the town swings into action to raise funds to meet the kidnappers' ransom demands. George Grizzard, Polly Holliday, Katharine Balfour and Celeste Holm star.
A housewife, increasingly disenchanted with her homemaker role, looks for new meaning in her life and organizes a discussion group, changing the lives of her six closest friends.
The good doctor is on trial before the British Medical Association Council, if he is found guilty, he will no longer be allowed to practice medicine. The story unfolds through flashbacks which depict his career and his subsequent downfall.
Workers in a high-powered New York business office are stranded on the 50th floor when the power fails during the East Coast blackout of 1965.
Sequel to "Summer of '42" reunites Hermie, Oscy and Benjie as they graduate from high school. Benjie departs shortly to war while Hermie and Oscy go on to college and experience fraternity hazings, cheating on exams, sex scandals and other unsavory college activities. Hermie grows apart from his childhood friend Oscy and begins a relationship with Julie that allows him to settle down into maturity.
A young poet gets the brilliant idea to live in a department store, hiding by day, and courting his muse by night where it's quiet, and he can have all his needs met. But, to his surprise, he learns his brilliant idea's not exactly original; there are other residents who dodge the night watchmen, and who keep their existence secret at all costs. And one of them is a young woman who wants to leave, but is too frightened to go. And Charles finds that he wants to show her the larger world outside.
In a Maine coastal village toward the end of the 19th century, the swaggering, carefree carnival barker, Billy Bigelow, captivates and marries the naive millworker, Julie Jordan. Billy loses his job just as he learns that Julie is pregnant and, desperately intent upon providing a decent life for his family, he is coerced into being an accomplice to a robbery. Caught in the act and facing the certainty of prison, he takes his own life and is sent 'up there.' Billy is allowed to return to earth for one day fifteen years later, and he encounters the daughter he never knew. She is a lonely, friendless teenager, her father's reputation as a thief and bully having haunted her throughout her young life. How Billy instills in both the child and her mother a sense of hope and dignity is a dramatic testimony to the power of love.
Also Directed by Boris Sagal
A Chicago mobster hires a rock and roll singer and his band to keep an eye on his daughter during Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
A young lawyer defends a drifter accused of murder that he has already confessed to. He asks a retired, legendary lawyer for help.
Several men hiking in the mountains discover an injured skyjacker who parachuted from a plane with $600,000. They kill him, then start fighting each other over the money.
The adventures of a newly married teenage couple in the Old West.
A war vet finds out that a former prostitute had his baby. Doubting it's his, he gives it away, so she reports him. Twenty years later, she still wants to find her son. She meets a young man and falls in love, but the vet's prison term ends.
A London businessman concocts an intricate plan to murder his unfaithful wife for her money.
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer is the title used for two syndicated television series that followed the adventures of fictional private detective Mike Hammer. The gritty, crime fighting detective—created by American crime author Mickey Spillane—has also inspired several feature films and made-for-TV movies.
Naked City is a police drama series which aired from 1958 to 1963 on the ABC television network. It was inspired by the 1948 motion picture of the same name, and mimics its dramatic “semi-documentary” format. In 1997, the episode “Sweet Prince of Delancey Street” was ranked #93 on TV Guide’s “100 Greatest Episodes of All Time”.
When starving mobs begin rioting in the streets of Moscow, Soviet leaders believe they have no recourse but to seize the Alaskan pipeline to force the United States to end the grain embargo that has brought turmoil to the U.S.S.R.
Also Directed by Mel Ferber
Small & Frye is an American television sitcom about a pair of private detectives, one of whom has the involuntary power to shrink to a small size. Produced by Walt Disney Productions, this series was broadcast on CBS in 1983, but only lasted for six episodes.
C.P.O. Sharkey is an American sitcom which aired from 1976 to 1978 on NBC.
Down to Earth is an American fantasy situation comedy series that ran on Superstation TBS from 1984 to 1987. The series was originally produced by The Arthur Company, and later, by Procter & Gamble Productions and was the Superstation's first original series.
Shirley is an American comedy-drama television series that aired from October 26, 1979 until January 25, 1980.
Ruth Sherwood and her sister, Eileen, have moved to 1935 Greenwich Village. They're surrounded by colorful Village characters (including an out-of-work football player known as the Wreck, and Mr. Appopolous, a modern painter and their landlord) and embark on various New York adventures. Ruth, who's trying to make it as a writer, meets up with a sleazy newspaper writer named Chick and a kindly editor named Bob, both of whom take an interest in both her career and her.
Foot in the Door is a short-lived comedy that aired on CBS in 1983. The series stars Kip Gilman as Jim Foot, a man working at an ad agency in New York, Diana Canova as his wife Harriet and Harold Gould as his recently widowed father Jonah who decides to move in with them.
Also Directed by Seymour Robbie
Felony Squad is a half-hour television crime drama originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 12, 1966 to January 31, 1969, a span encompassing seventy-three episodes.
The cub reporter, Gallegher, becomes involved in a land fraud, when some valueless land is sold to a group of Cornish immigrants. A murder implicates one of the immigrants, and it is up to Gallegher to prove that a local resident is actually the murderer and the swindler is a local banker.
Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable doctor who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986.
Barnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. The show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement. William Conrad guest starred as Frank Cannon of Cannon on the first episode of Barnaby Jones, "Requiem for a Son" and the two series had a two-part crossover episode in 1975, "The Deadly Conspiracy".
Also Directed by Ron Winston
On a peaceful suburban street, strange occurrences and mysterious people stoke the residents' paranoia to a disastrous intensity.
Getting Together is an American musical situation comedy, which aired on the ABC television network during the 1971-72 season. It stars Bobby Sherman and Wes Stern as Bobby Conway and Lionel Poindexter, a songwriting duo. The pilot for the series had aired the previous spring the first season finale episode of The Partridge Family named "A Knight in Shining Armor", where Lionel and Bobby were introduced to each other by the Partridges. Sherman and Stern's characters were reportedly based on the real-life songwriting team of Boyce and Hart, who had written hits for The Monkees, Jay and the Americans, and others. New music of course was a staple of the series, provided by much of the same team that created the Partridge Family songs and records. Most of these songs were from two Bobby Sherman albums -- Getting Together and Just For You.
Card cheats travel by cruise ship to the Adriatic coast to fleece a wealthy aristocrat.
Checkmate is an American detective television series starring Anthony George, Sebastian Cabot, and Doug McClure. The show aired on CBS Television from 1960 to 1962 for a total of 70 episodes and was produced by Jack Benny's production company, "JaMco Productions" in co-operation with Revue Studios. Guest stars included Charles Laughton, Peter Lorre, and Lee Marvin, among many other commensurately prominent performers.
On a peaceful suburban street, strange occurrences and mysterious people stoke the residents' paranoia to a disastrous intensity.
A playboy golf pro, kicked off the circuit for alleged cheating, is forced to hustle for a living.
Great Ghost Tales is an American horror television series that aired from July 6 until September 21, 1961.
A trading company manager travels up an African river to find a missing outpost head and discovers the depth of evil in humanity's soul.
In exchange for helping writer-adventurer Lawrence Colby smuggle 300 watch parts into Paris from Switzerland, Martine Randall asks Colby to help solve a complicated situation involving her friend Sabine Manning, a well-known author of sex novels.