Welcome To Case's Column
Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken.
Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.
In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.
Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!
Regards,
case44
Let me say a big welcome to all of you for joining me here. I'm going to call these blog meetings Case's Column. I wanted to use "Corner", but that was already taken.
Since 2008, it's been a real privilege to come on here and share some of my life with you, and it's a big world where we live.In these blogs, I'll just speak whatever is on my mind, but we will be playing within the rules here. I may pick a particular topic, point out an event, or shoot the breeze. I'm a little bit of an essayist at times, so I'll just speak what's on my mind, and I might tell a story or two. Or, I might spew out an opinion or three. There will be some serious moments, some tender, some poignant, but there will also be those moments that you'll just bust out laughing. But, hopefully, everything will be in good fun here. And, of course, there's a place below for your comments and thoughts as we go along here. So feel free to join me for the ride -- I sure as heck hope I'm doing this right and not making any mistakes.
Thanks for taking your time in reading Case's Column. Hopefully, you'll enjoy being entertained by it as much as I've enjoyed putting these writings together. And thanks for the time you spend in City-Data.com, where it's great to be alive!
Regards,
case44
Two Surprising Takeaways From The ABC-TV Series, "The Mod Squad"
Posted 08-30-2022 at 05:59 PM by case44
How about I take you down Memory Lane once again? Let's do that.
You may remember an old TV series on ABC-TV back in the late 1960s and early '70s about three counterculture outcasts who'd been previously convicted of crimes but were given a second chance as undercover cops by a sympathetic police captain. It also had what I consider one of the greatest theme tracks of all time. That series was, "The Mod Squad". It made its debut in 1968, and despite ABC's standing as a third-place network, this series turned out to be an introduction to the 1970s on television. The Mod Squad was a show ahead of its time, certainly in terms of its personality. ABC proved its worth as an innovative network during that period, and Aaron Spelling was becoming quite the player.
Two very interesting takeaways come from this that I can point out. First is, the people responsible for the production of this show. Aaron Spelling was starting to become an up-and-coming in the TV industry, and ABC was his network. You know of all of his big successes which followed in the 1970s and into the '80s, shows such as "The Rookies", "Charlie's Angels", "Dynasty", "The Love Boat", "Fantasy Island", and "Hotel". What some may not remember or realize was that Spelling forged a working relationship with Danny Thomas (a well-known comedian who had several TV successes of his own), and they had their own company for a few years. I only remember the Leonard Goldberg partnership that Spelling had in the '70s, but as I look at YouTube and the themes of yesteryear, I discovered that Danny Thomas actually had a hand in The Mod Squad. Any casual observer might have asked, "Who knew?"
The other takeaway was the fellow who put together the theme music and the main theme song for the show. You'll probably never guess, but it was none other than the great Earle Hagen. That's right. The same Earle Hagen who had a hand in a number of Danny Thomas-produced shows such as "Gomer Pyle, USMC", "The Andy Griffith Show", "The Dick Van Dyke Show", and "That Girl". Now, he also did the theme for "I Spy", an NBC-TV series which introduced Bill Cosby to America's audiences. I'm not wishing to knock Hagen for his versatility, but it's just that I would never have expected him to be the writer of the theme of The Mod Squad when there were cats like Dave Grusin and Lalo Schifrin out there in the TV world who were very prolific during that time. Earle Hagen brought something to the table with one of TV's best themes for any series.
The Mod Squad. Always ahead of its time. For a show which my parents used to watch religiously while I was a small kid, I like to think that this had actually stood the test of time, even though we haven't really seen this show too much in syndication back in the day. Surprising.
You may remember an old TV series on ABC-TV back in the late 1960s and early '70s about three counterculture outcasts who'd been previously convicted of crimes but were given a second chance as undercover cops by a sympathetic police captain. It also had what I consider one of the greatest theme tracks of all time. That series was, "The Mod Squad". It made its debut in 1968, and despite ABC's standing as a third-place network, this series turned out to be an introduction to the 1970s on television. The Mod Squad was a show ahead of its time, certainly in terms of its personality. ABC proved its worth as an innovative network during that period, and Aaron Spelling was becoming quite the player.
Two very interesting takeaways come from this that I can point out. First is, the people responsible for the production of this show. Aaron Spelling was starting to become an up-and-coming in the TV industry, and ABC was his network. You know of all of his big successes which followed in the 1970s and into the '80s, shows such as "The Rookies", "Charlie's Angels", "Dynasty", "The Love Boat", "Fantasy Island", and "Hotel". What some may not remember or realize was that Spelling forged a working relationship with Danny Thomas (a well-known comedian who had several TV successes of his own), and they had their own company for a few years. I only remember the Leonard Goldberg partnership that Spelling had in the '70s, but as I look at YouTube and the themes of yesteryear, I discovered that Danny Thomas actually had a hand in The Mod Squad. Any casual observer might have asked, "Who knew?"
The other takeaway was the fellow who put together the theme music and the main theme song for the show. You'll probably never guess, but it was none other than the great Earle Hagen. That's right. The same Earle Hagen who had a hand in a number of Danny Thomas-produced shows such as "Gomer Pyle, USMC", "The Andy Griffith Show", "The Dick Van Dyke Show", and "That Girl". Now, he also did the theme for "I Spy", an NBC-TV series which introduced Bill Cosby to America's audiences. I'm not wishing to knock Hagen for his versatility, but it's just that I would never have expected him to be the writer of the theme of The Mod Squad when there were cats like Dave Grusin and Lalo Schifrin out there in the TV world who were very prolific during that time. Earle Hagen brought something to the table with one of TV's best themes for any series.
The Mod Squad. Always ahead of its time. For a show which my parents used to watch religiously while I was a small kid, I like to think that this had actually stood the test of time, even though we haven't really seen this show too much in syndication back in the day. Surprising.
Total Comments 2
Comments
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You could make a case that Danny Thomas may have actually influenced the use of Earle Hagen when this series was put together. Had to be.Posted 08-30-2022 at 07:15 PM by case44
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Although, I never watched The Mod Squad, you're speaking my language when it comes to Aaron Spelling TV shows in the 70s. I'm a big fan of the original S.W.A.T. series, and am surprised it only lasted 2 seasons.
My favorite 80s producer is Stephen Cannell. After the ending credits, there was like a 15 second ad spot showing him sitting in an office on a typewriter and pulling the sheet out and tossing it into his branding logo. Cool stuff.Posted 09-01-2022 at 08:03 PM by MoNative34 
