Nagging TV Show Mysteries

[tlyle]

On Gilligan, I want to know what radio station was coming through on the professor's radio so clearly? Must have been a 50K blowtorch if the island was so deserted!

Wasn't that station identified by calls as an actual Honolulu station in at least one or two episodes?

Wouldn't need 50kw -- after all, they were originally on a "three-hour tour," meaning 1.5 hours out and 1.5 back (or 3 hours in a big loop), so even given being blown off-course by the storm, they shouldn't have been so terribly far out, so the stronger Honolulu stations would have made it in nicely over an all-water path.

Which, of course, reminds one of another enduring Gilligan's Island mystery -- how could there be an "uncharted desert isle" so close to Oahu, and yet no one ever saw or heard of it? It's not some little sandspit or atoll -- it appears to be a fairly substantial little hunk of island -- so no one ever saw it from the air or sea?

Did it ever occur to you that Gilligan's Island and the island in Lost are one and the same? Maybe it was Gilligan and his crew that murdered the members of the Dharma Initiative in cold blood, but that storyline in one of those mysterious "lost episodes."

I am waiting on Sawyer on "Lost" to call Hurley by the name of Gilligan.

 

[gr8oldies]

We all know how much a plot line with a woman who had to go to some other man for her dead husband's money would NOT fly today.

 

[Kurt Toy]

On the Jim Lange version of "The Dating Game", a woman questioner-the "bachelorette"-always got to sit on a stuffed, molded, button-tufted seat, while on occasions when a man got to question the three "bachelorettes" he sat on a vinyl or leather folding director's chair. I've always wondered what was up with that. ???

 

[RicoGregg]

In this world, on this very planet, in our reality, could these TV women truly be considered hot? :

LaVerne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) - LaVerne & Shirley

Sally Solomon (Kristen Johnston) - 3rd Rock From the Sun

Joyce Davenport (Vernonica Hamel, a belated happy 65th birthday, Veronica!) - Hill Street Blues

Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) - Cheers

Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) - M*A*S*H

Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) - Mary Tyler Moore

Marcy D'arcy/Rhodes (Amanda Bearse) - Married, With Children

 

[BRNout]

In this world, on this very planet, in our reality, could these TV women truly be considered hot? :

LaVerne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) - LaVerne & Shirley

No, never. I never got that and never will.

Sally Solomon (Kristen Johnston) - 3rd Rock From the Sun

Um, kinda in a way. She's tall and probably has a nice bod in person. In my office, she'd be tops - but that's not saying much!

Joyce Davenport (Vernonica Hamel, a belated happy 65th birthday, Veronica!) - Hill Street Blues

Not really. Just okay.

Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) - Cheers

Not really. Just okay.

Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) - M*A*S*H

"Hot Lips" never did much for me. I'd say no. Then again, in Korea and surrounded by a bunch of smelly guys......probably yes!

Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper) - Mary Tyler Moore

Actually, yes I definitely would. At least during the MTM show days. She wasn't bad at all. In fact, a recent episode of TMZ apparently caught up with her somewhere and they were all amazed at how great she still looks - in her late 60s!

However, I'll admit that I didn't appreciate her hotness until I turned 40!

Marcy D'arcy/Rhodes (Amanda Bearse) - Married, With Children

She's cute in a way. At least in the earlier episodes. Of course, we all know her proclivities now - which is kinda hot too.

 

[Corky Marlowe]

A pretty funny question about Green Acres: How could Oliver afford a Lincoln Continental every year but he couldn't afford a new tractor and always fixing Mr. Haney's old tractor as rich as he was and Lisa could afford new clothes, furs, jewelry, etc.?

Listing every Green Acres mystery would crash this website...Well, not exactly crash it...More like...No, it wouldn't do that either...Hoo boy!

 

[LKellerIII]

And all those distant mountains around the Dallas area during the mid-to-later seasons of Dallas? Uh-huh.... maybe Ewing Oil caused that while drilling all around for oil? 8)

Even worse was I Dream of Jeannie -- it's supposed to take place in Cocoa Beach, and yet in several long location shots (Tony driving his car, etc.), there are clearly mountains in the background. I've lived in Florida for almost 40 years, and I've yet to find those mountains!

I'm sure everybody knows the answer to that - Los Angeles is often used as a stand-in for every city in America, and LA is surrounded by tall mountains...that's what holds all the smog in.

I've lived in San Francisco for 35 years - while many movies and TV shows are set here, only a few are shot here - Streets of San Francisco and Nash Bridges being two examples. Many other shows from Ironside in the 60s to Monk today throw in some establishing shots of SF (you know, cable cars going down the hill, Coit Tower, etc.), but are otherwise shot elsewhere - usually LA or Vancouver - and it's often quite obvious.

I recall a scene in the X Files - set in San Francisco, the climactic scene was set on scenic Fisherman's Wharf. It was quite convincing, and I was buying it until the camera took in a huge evergreen forest on the hill above the Wharf, where Pacific Heights was supposed to be. Vancouver, I think.

A pretty funny question about Green Acres: How could Oliver afford a Lincoln Continental every year but he couldn't afford a new tractor and always fixing Mr. Haney's old tractor as rich as he was and Lisa could afford new clothes, furs, jewelry, etc.?

How about Tod and Buz, those 2 poor drifters on Route 66 driving a new Corvette every year? At least Oliver was a formerly rich lawyer. What was more annoying on Route 66 was when they would edit in a stock shot from old footage, and the Corvette was suddenly 3 years older than the model they were currently driving.

I was about 10 years old at the time, and I knew every inch of every Corvette ever made.

 

[Ultimajock]

In this world, on this very planet, in our reality, could these TV women truly be considered hot? :

LaVerne DeFazio (Penny Marshall) - LaVerne & Shirley

No, never. I never got that and never will.

...actually, Penny was kinda cute on The Odd Couple. Maybe it was the straight hair on the earlier series that made all the difference...

Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) - Cheers

Not really. Just okay.

...Kirstie's eyes were the main attraction there. Unfortunately, Meg Foster (the original casting of Cagney & Lacey) covered that territory when Kirstie was still a game show contestant...

Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan (Loretta Swit) - M*A*S*H

"Hot Lips" never did much for me. I'd say no. Then again, in Korea and surrounded by a bunch of smelly guys......probably yes!

...Loretta Swit, never. Now, Sally Kellerman, on the other hand ;D ...

 

[LKellerIII]

In this world, on this very planet, in our reality, could these TV women truly be considered hot? :

...Loretta Swit, never. Now, Sally Kellerman, on the other hand ;D ...

Sally Kellerman was (is!) a very beautiful woman. She was also a major voice artist for many years - that smoky voice featured in many radio and TV commercials.

http://www.sallykellerman.com/

Hate to be negative...but have you seen Loretta Swit in the last decade or two? Post collagen implants and major plastic surgery? Truly frightening...not unlike Joan Rivers, who (at least) can make fun of herself.

 

[WPPCProductions]

Take a look at Linda Evans now,The plastic surdeon should of gotten lock up for the hack job he did to her.she was very cute at the age when she was on Dynasty.

 

[Al Timiter]

In Superman, no one ever seemed to recognize how much Clark Kent looked like Superman when he had his glasses off. There were several episodes when that happened, such as when he would be in bed, getting out of bed, etc. when Jimmy Olson, Lois Lane, etc. were there and he would not have his glasses on.

------------whoa! you mean I missed the rarely-seen "3 Way" episode with Superman, Jimmy and Lois in bed? Doggone it! (LMAO)

 

[WMC2006]

In Superman, no one ever seemed to recognize how much Clark Kent looked like Superman when he had his glasses off. There were several episodes when that happened, such as when he would be in bed, getting out of bed, etc. when Jimmy Olson, Lois Lane, etc. were there and he would not have his glasses on.

------------whoa! you mean I missed the rarely-seen "3 Way" episode with Superman, Jimmy and Lois in bed? Doggone it! (LMAO)

Great Caeser's Ghost!!!

 

[Corky Marlowe]

How about Tod and Buz, those 2 poor drifters on Route 66 driving a new Corvette every year?

Didn't Tod inherit a bunch of money?

Just thought of another mystery...How was it that all the people who didn't watch "Hee Haw" still knew the words to "Where Oh Where Are You Tonight?" and "Gloom, Despair And Agony On Me"?

 

[LKellerIII]

How about Tod and Buz, those 2 poor drifters on Route 66 driving a new Corvette every year?

Didn't Tod inherit a bunch of money?

The back story was - Tod grew up wealthy because his father was the owner of a successful shipping company. But shortly after Tod's graduation from Yale, the father suffered major business setbacks that left him bankrupt. Tragically, dad then had a coronary and died. The only thing left of his inheritance was that brand new Corvette.

So that explains how Tod got the first 'Vette, but not the new replacement 'Vette each subsequent season.

 

[Stanislav]

Related Show Mystery: Back in Mayberry, Gomer Pyle was a master mechanic/car doctor. So how come when he joined the Marines, he was in an infantry unit and had no discernible skills other than singing or screwing up?

You'd think they would have at least assigned him to the motor pool, where he could be of some use. But that wouldn't have been funny.....

 

[Markieo]

Let's see...how did the characters in Happy Days get away with having long hair in the early 60's, especially Chachi? The rednecks would've dragged him out of Arnold's and give him a crewcut!

On The Brady Bunch, where did Alice Eat? :-\

On Family Matters (or, The Urkel, Carl and Laura show) what happened to the youngest daughter Judy? Seems like she went upstairs to bed, and never came back down! (Maybe she's doing a porn basketball fkick with Chuck Cunningham and Mike Douglas (from My 3 sons)!)

On the Partridge Family (second season onwards), how did the family manage to live in a middle class neighborhood with no stalkers and screaming fans waiting for them to come out of the house?

During the CBS run of Hazel, Mr. & Mrs. B are sent to the Middle East, and Mr. B's brother Steven takes her in. Trouble is, this is the first time we've seen or heard him! What was he in NBC, the black sheep of the family??

 

[BRNout]

Let's see...how did the characters in Happy Days get away with having long hair in the early 60's, especially Chachi? The rednecks would've dragged him out of Arnold's and give him a crewcut!

Remember the late episode where Fonzie was bemoaning all the folk music. In 1960? And yes, crew cuts were more in than ever at that time. Not flowing 1975 hair, old army-navy surplus jackets and leather wrist bands (Chachi?). Ted McGinley's hair was too long for any time period shy of 1968.

After a while, the makers of Happy Days just quit trying....

On The Brady Bunch, where did Alice Eat? :-\

In her little jail cell, er, ah, bedroom.

 

[quadraphonic]

On Gilligan, I want to know what radio station was coming through on the professor's radio so clearly? Must have been a 50K blowtorch if the island was so deserted!

Wasn't that station identified by calls as an actual Honolulu station in at least one or two episodes?

Wouldn't need 50kw -- after all, they were originally on a "three-hour tour," meaning 1.5 hours out and 1.5 back (or 3 hours in a big loop), so even given being blown off-course by the storm, they shouldn't have been so terribly far out, so the stronger Honolulu stations would have made it in nicely over an all-water path.

Which, of course, reminds one of another enduring Gilligan's Island mystery -- how could there be an "uncharted desert isle" so close to Oahu, and yet no one ever saw or heard of it? It's not some little sandspit or atoll -- it appears to be a fairly substantial little hunk of island -- so no one ever saw it from the air or sea?

Did it ever occur to you that Gilligan's Island and the island in Lost are one and the same? Maybe it was Gilligan and his crew that murdered the members of the Dharma Initiative in cold blood, but that storyline in one of those mysterious "lost episodes."

I am waiting on Sawyer on "Lost" to call Hurley by the name of Gilligan.

If this happens, my wife and some of her friends will be sorely disappointed.
But I will be able to say "I tolja so."

 

[quadraphonic]

Black people in Mayberry: There were some in a couple of crowd shots during the show's run. On another note, they love their basketball in North Carolina...Apparently everywhere but Mayberry. Nobody ever goes to see Mayberry play Silar City in the Mount Pilot sectional, nor are there are any arguments over the merits of UNC-NC State-Duke.

Basketball might be big in NC, but it's not at the same levels ESPN hypes it.
Besides, everybody knows Mayberry never had a good team.
The show was about relationships and small-town livin', not about what they did for entertainment. Otherwise there would be more time spent on what Otis did at the shot houses, not dealin' with the aftermath. [This theory applies only to black and white episodes, the color ones were usually a swing-a-thon, with the characters going to party out of town staying out until 2am and whatnot.]

Related Show Mystery: Back in Mayberry, Gomer Pyle was a master mechanic/car doctor. So how come when he joined the Marines, he was in an infantry unit and had no discernible skills other than singing or screwing up?

The Marines would do things like that.
Gomer probably did not test well on the ASVAB/mechanical tests, and got put in with the "singing and screwing up squad."

 

[onairb]

On 'The Six Million Dollar Man' and 'The Bionic Woman', how come Steve and Jaime, who between them had three artificial legs, never limped? ;D
Furthermore, Steve, with his one 'normal' arm and leg, was often shown using the non-bionic limbs in 'bionic' situations...and each of them had one bionic and one 'normal' arm, so the 'normal' arms should have snapped in two whenever they were pumping their arms while running...and I'm not even mentioning the obvious 'using slow-motion photography to show running at high speed' technique!