This year, I'll be recalling some of my favourite programs from television, via A-Z, of course.
How many of these do you remember?
Were these before your time?
This blog post has been written in front of a live studio audience.
1977 / Quark featuring: Richard Benjamin, Tim Thomerson, Richard Kelton, Tricia Barnstable & Cyb Barnstable
This is another example of a show I have heard nothing about. Granted, I was only seven at the time and not much of a TV connoisseur. Still, I had heard of other science fiction or goofy shows. I'm willing to bet 85-95% of you have never heard of this show either. The premise is the lead character, is cleaning outer space of space debris.
1976-1983 / Quincy M.E. featuring: Jack Klugman, Gary Walberg
One of those early drama type shows I never got very involved with. It had Jack Klugman in it, and he was known to me for being in the Odd Couple. So, if I ever caught a few episodes, that would have been the reason.
1989-1993 / Quantum Leap featuring: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell
One of my ultimate favourite television shows. It had humour, it had science fiction, it was a drama. This series had everything. It's one of the very few TV shows I actually wrote fan-fiction of.
This A-Z list has been brought to you today, by....
1967 - Quaker Oatmeal (Featuring Elizabeth Montgomery)
1973 - Quangaroos Cereal
1982 - Q*Bert Video Game
Wow, some good finds here Jeffrey. Never heard of Quark. Likewise I never heard of Quangaroos cereal or Q-Bert. Q is a tough letter; you did great with it!
ReplyDeleteMichele at Angels Bark
Thanks. Unfortunately, the worst letter is to come. I was not happy with my Z post. But you'll see next week.
DeleteCool! I never saw that one with Elizabeth Montgomery. Nice to see her again!
ReplyDeleteI thought a few people would find the Q commercials interesting.
DeleteHi, Jeffrey!
ReplyDeleteWow, you found some excellent Q relics, good buddy! I haven't thought about Quark in decades. It only ran a couple of months but I remember watching it. Richard Benjamin is one of my favorite actors (see the movie Goodbye Columbus) and the lovely Barnstable twins were quite a draw. I remember them appearing on the cover of a 1981 issue of Playboy magazine:
http://www.glossaryone.com/content/issue.cfm?coverfile=us8103cover.jpg
I was a regular viewer of Quincy and, in recent years, Mrs. Shady and I worked our way through all available episodes of the series on Netflix. You jarred my memory by including that vintage commercial for Quaker Oatmeal starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York in character as Samantha and Darrin Stephens on the popular TV sitcom Bewitched. I can't help wondering why that advertising gimmick hasn't been used more often over the years.
Thanks, good buddy Jeffrey!
I agree about the marketing gimmick. I wonder if it has something to do with more advanced copyrights and higher salaries demanded by the actors.
DeleteOnly thing I was familiar with today was the Cast of Bewitched on the oatmeal commercial. I do remember that one.
ReplyDeleteSomehow those type of commercials slipped my notice as a youth. It's only when doing research for this years A-Z did I notice certain shows did this.
DeleteHoly cow! The only ones I recall are Quantum Leap and Bewitched. I must have crawled under a rock for awhile;-)
ReplyDeleteYou are excused in not knowing Quark. As Shady points out above, it was only one for a few months. Even I didn't know about it.
DeleteQUANTUM LEAP! Now that's a show I can get behind. I loved that show. It was also the only show that made looking in the mirror quite possibly the scariest part of your day. I always loved it when he leaped female and had to wear the dress and heels. I'm twisted. I know it.
ReplyDeleteI loved the show, but they never did enough 80's era. It was Sam's least favourite decade. I wonder if that were true of the writers too.
DeleteI never heard of Quark. Didn't even know that such a Sci-Fi program existed. However, Quincy was a show that I looked at when they started showing reruns. I even enjoyed looking at Bewitched. It was often very funny. Quantum Leap, however, was a show that I didn't get into.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from the A to Z Blog Challenge.
Shalom,
Patricia @ EverythingMustChange
Of all the shows, I think Quantum Leap has been my favourite.
DeleteQuantum Leap and Quincy were the only ones I heard of before
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoyed Quantum Leap.
DeleteWe were fortunate to catch one episode of "Quark" before it was unceremoniously torn from NBC's schedule. We laughed like idiots.
ReplyDeleteEver try to write lyrics to theme songs that don't have any? I tried with the theme from "Quincy", and only got the first two lines: "Oh, his name is Quincy/He's the L. A. Coroner..."
I was the moderator for a mailing list where we all wrote in character, and the member I had the most trouble with was a big fan of "Quantum Leap" and chose to write as Al Calavicci, albeit a foul-mouthed one who had a tendency to throw tantrums on-list. I've seen the show a couple of times (I like Scott Bakula), but I'm afraid my opinion of it has been unfairly colored by my experience.
That's funny about the theme songs. I need to try that. One day I'm going to try and come up with lyrics for M*A*S*H. (Yes, I'm being facetious). So sorry to hear how QL was tainted for you. It was an awesome show. One of the few shows I've ever written fan fiction for.
DeleteLots of laughs here thanks for sharing the good times with us Jeffrey. Quantum Leap and Quincy were my favourites which were edited by my parents, God bless them.
ReplyDeleteDid they feel Quincy was too graphic? I hope you will not be offended if Star Trek is not featured on S day.
DeleteQuangaroos, what were they on when they thought of that?
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you on this one. Orange flavoured cereal. Can you imagine eating a bowl of cereal and pouring orange juice in it instead of milk? They were grasping at straws I think. Hemp straws, most likely.
DeleteI haven't seen that oatmeal commercial but I loved seeing Elizabeth Montgomery in the Bewitched reruns.
ReplyDeleteWasn't that neat? It was an interesting find for sure.
DeleteI didn't care for Quantam, especially when he was a woman. LOL I did enjoy Quincy, but a good murder mystery was always a draw.
ReplyDeleteYou never knew what Sam Becket would leap into. I hated the one where he was supposed to be a chimp. They may as well have had him leap into the shark Fonzie was jumping over.
DeleteOh, I loved Quantum Leap and still will watch it. I thought it was so good. I also enjoyed Quincy. I love that Bewitched commercial
ReplyDeleteI thought a few might like the Bewitched commercial. It was an interesting find, to be sure.
DeleteI was a fan of Quantum Leap and Quincy - it is amazing the memories these posts dredge up. Not just about the tv programme but about who I was back then or who I was with or what I was doing. Great post and A to Z theme!
ReplyDelete@Samantha/samratkel from
Shadow Realities
That's the thing about nostalgia. It always takes you back.
DeleteQuincy and Quantum Leap - now there are two I remember well :) Quincy always used to get so het up about everything, emphatically waving his hands at people.
ReplyDeleteTasha
Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)
Quincy and Quantum Leap seem to be the two favourites today.
DeleteDay late and dollar short here (still playing catch up!) I loved Jack Klugman as Quincy. Used to watch it all the time, as I also watched Quantum Leap. Two really good shows.
ReplyDeleteMary
#AtoZChallenge R is for Reba
No worries, I have been playing catch up too. I think I'm finally there.
DeleteQuantum Leap! I loved that show! I wanted to do a rewatch on Netflix, but oddly, they don't have all the epis ???
ReplyDelete~Katie
TheCyborgMom
That's kind of like Doctor Who. They pick and choose. Netflix even says the first episode of Doctor Who was the Aztecs, which clearly it wasn't.
DeleteMy grandparents were very much into any detective show on tv when I was a kid, so I did watched Quincy quite a lot.
ReplyDeleteQuanto Leap? One of my favourite shows too. But then I love historical stories as well as speculative stories, what else could I ask for? :-)
@JazzFeathers
The Old Shelter - Jazz Age Jazz
The thing I loved about Quantum Leap, is they resisted the urge to have him leap into well known celebrities and such. Sure they danced about that a few times, but the other stories were what made the series great.
Deletei also wrote about Quantum Leap - loved when he jumped into Elvis! i love how you're also including commercials. great idea!
ReplyDeleteI certainly loved Quantum Leap. One of my favourite sci. fi. shows.
Delete