George Schlatter's and Digby Wolfe's 1969 TV series "Turn-On" is one of the most notorious flops in TV history. On the night of its debut episode, an ABC affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio only allowed ten minutes of the 30-minute show to elapse before pulling it from the air, filling the remaining time with intermission-ready organ music. According to newspaper reports from the time, "Turn-On" received many, many angry phone calls. By the time "Turn-On" was to debut on the West Coast time zones, it had already been canceled. It's the only show in history to be canceled in the middle of its debut broadcast.
"Turn-On" was lambasted for being ribald and controversial -- there were numerous gags about sex and sexuality -- but more than anything, it was just off-putting and strange. The premise was high-concept: in the show's very first scene, a pair of engineers sit down at...
"Turn-On" was lambasted for being ribald and controversial -- there were numerous gags about sex and sexuality -- but more than anything, it was just off-putting and strange. The premise was high-concept: in the show's very first scene, a pair of engineers sit down at...
- 3/11/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In late 1968, TV producer George Schlatter, riding high on his hit Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, pitched a new conceptual television show packed full of short clips, rapid movements, and controversial topics.
The show was picked up by ABC for a run of 13 episodes, with additional episodes purchased after advertisers saw the first episode, for a total of 17 shows. Three episodes were shot in their entirety before the initial airing.
The half-hour first episode premiered on February 5th, 1969 at 8:30 Pm on the east coast, where it took the place of the primetime soap opera Peyton Place. Tim Conway was recruited as the first celebrity guest and the writers included Albert Brooks.
The show seemed poised for success. But 10 minutes into the broadcast, between the first and second commercial breaks, a programmer at Wews in Cleveland stated that the remainder of the program would “not be seen this evening….or ever.
The show was picked up by ABC for a run of 13 episodes, with additional episodes purchased after advertisers saw the first episode, for a total of 17 shows. Three episodes were shot in their entirety before the initial airing.
The half-hour first episode premiered on February 5th, 1969 at 8:30 Pm on the east coast, where it took the place of the primetime soap opera Peyton Place. Tim Conway was recruited as the first celebrity guest and the writers included Albert Brooks.
The show seemed poised for success. But 10 minutes into the broadcast, between the first and second commercial breaks, a programmer at Wews in Cleveland stated that the remainder of the program would “not be seen this evening….or ever.
- 10/6/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
One of the most notorious TV shows of the medium’s first half-century is getting a second life — after its first one ended almost as soon as it began.
Producer George Schlatter is releasing the two completed episodes of Turn-On, a 1969 sketch comedy show that saw only one of those two air — and get pulled from one ABC affiliate within 10 minutes of its debut, something that hadn’t happened before and hasn’t since. The two episodes will be available Oct. 9 on YouTube via Clown Jewels, a channel dedicated to vintage comedy.
Laugh-In creator George Schlatter and Digby Wolfe, a writer on the show, created Turn-On, whose hook was that it was the first “computerized” TV show. Filmed rather than taped in front of an audience, the show featured a rapid-fire series of sketches on a blank white set, brief bits of animation and, for the time, a number of risqué subjects and lines.
Producer George Schlatter is releasing the two completed episodes of Turn-On, a 1969 sketch comedy show that saw only one of those two air — and get pulled from one ABC affiliate within 10 minutes of its debut, something that hadn’t happened before and hasn’t since. The two episodes will be available Oct. 9 on YouTube via Clown Jewels, a channel dedicated to vintage comedy.
Laugh-In creator George Schlatter and Digby Wolfe, a writer on the show, created Turn-On, whose hook was that it was the first “computerized” TV show. Filmed rather than taped in front of an audience, the show featured a rapid-fire series of sketches on a blank white set, brief bits of animation and, for the time, a number of risqué subjects and lines.
- 10/6/2023
- by Rick Porter
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) is a hero on The Young and the Restless. The Newman son has sent the hearts of many females swooning with his charm. But Nick’s recent behavior with his girlfriend, Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope), has fans seeing him in a different light.
The Young and the Restless star Joshua Morrow I Ella Hovsepian/Getty Images Nick Newman is dating Sally Spectra on ‘The Young and the Restless’
Since 1994, Nick has been a heartthrob on The Young and the Restless. Some of his love interests include Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) and Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan). Most of Nick’s girlfriends also happen to be the exes of his brother Adam Newman (Mark Grossman).
Again, the Newman brothers are at odds over another woman, Sally. After Adam broke up with Sally, she rebounded with Nick. However, she still had feelings for Adam and had one last fling with him.
The Young and the Restless star Joshua Morrow I Ella Hovsepian/Getty Images Nick Newman is dating Sally Spectra on ‘The Young and the Restless’
Since 1994, Nick has been a heartthrob on The Young and the Restless. Some of his love interests include Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) and Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan). Most of Nick’s girlfriends also happen to be the exes of his brother Adam Newman (Mark Grossman).
Again, the Newman brothers are at odds over another woman, Sally. After Adam broke up with Sally, she rebounded with Nick. However, she still had feelings for Adam and had one last fling with him.
- 3/6/2023
- by Carol Cassada
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
A review of tonight's "Mad Men" coming up just as soon as the other couch is full of farts... "Oh, believe me: there's always a hierarchy." -Roger "Mad Men" was so busy dealing with the politics and tragedy of 1968 that season 6 didn't have a lot of time for the pop culture of that year. Perhaps as a make-up, we get "The Monolith," an episode whose name evokes the mysterious black object at the center of "2001: A Space Odyssey," and whose plot involves a fear of man being replaced by computers, much as the Hal-9000 in that film sought to kill off the human astronauts (and also had more personality than either of them). And Lloyd, the computer engineer responsible for installing Sc&P's new technological marvel, even tells Don, "It's been my experience these machines can be a metaphor for whatever's on people's minds." "Mad Men" is often a show that,...
- 5/5/2014
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
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