News

Gunsmoke was one of the most popular television shows ever to hit the air. The network, CBS, knew what it had on its hands after its 1955 premiere and milked it for 20 seasons before suddenly canceling it in 1975. The Western genre later died off, as its wave of popularity never quite returned to form. Here’s a list of five other vintage television shows to dig into if Gunsmoke was your jam.

L-r: Milburn Stone as Doc Adams, James Arness as Matt Dillon, Amanda Blake as Kitty Russell, and Ken Curtis as Festus Haggen | CBS via Getty Images ‘Bonanza’ (1959-1973) L-r: Dan Blocker as Eric ‘Hoss’ Cartwright, Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright, Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright, and Michael Landon as Joseph ‘Little Joe’ Cartwright | Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Bonanza first hit the air in 1959, a few years after Gunsmoke first established its legs among Western shows. The story follows...

These days, you can’t turn around without finding a new medical drama on TV. Shows like New Amsterdam and 911 follow doctors, firefighters, and emergency service workers as they try to rescue patients and unsuspecting victims from tragedy. But before this overload of medical dramas, one show paved the way for firefighters and paramedics: Emergency! If you watched this show during its original run, you might wonder which Emergency! cast members are still alive.

What was ‘Emergency!’ about? ‘Emergency!’ Season 2: Kevin Tighe and Randolph Mantooth | Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Set in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the 1970s action-adventure medical drama follows rescuers working as paramedics and firefighters. The show debuted as a midseason replacement in 1972, and IMDb lists the series run at 122 episodes in seven seasons and six two-hour TV movies until 1979.

Series creators previously worked on Dragnet and Adam-12, both about policing.

The Brain from Planet Arous

Blu ray

The Film Detective

1957 / 1:33:1, 1.85:1 / 71 Min.

Starring John Agar, Joyce Meadows, Robert Fuller

Written by Roy Buffum

Directed by Nathan Hertz (Juran)

In 1957, Screen Gems released 52 of Universal’s classic horror films to television in a package called Shock! Typically broadcast around the midnight hour on Friday nights, the show was a late night epiphany for third graders who raced to the local bijou in search of more monsters—and sent theater owners scrambling for more product. They found it overseas and across the border.

To mollify the playground crowd, those imports—a mix of art house fare and boilerplate exploitation—were dubbed, retitled, and shorn of most dicey material; France’s Les Yeux Sans Visage became The Horror Chamber of Dr. Faustus, and Italy’s Lycanthropus appeared in local listings as Werewolf in a Girl’s Dormitory. The thrillers produced at...

Tim Donnelly, the actor who is best known for playing fireman Chet Kelly on the 1970s TV series “Emergency!,” has died. He was 77.

The news was first shared by the Los Angeles County Fire Museum. Clearly, Donnelly held his television ties to the firefighter community quite dearly.

“We at the Fire Museum are heartbroken as we sure all of you will be as well regarding the following news. It is with deep sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our friend, Tim Donnelly, this weekend,” a Facebook post read. “Tim, as you know, played Chet Kelly on the show ‘Emergency!’ among many other roles during his acting career. Tim is survived by his daughter, Ashley, two grandsons, his sister Kathleen and his brother Dennis.”

“To all the ‘Emergency!’ fans, we want you to know that he was very excited about coming to the Museum in January for the 50th Anniversary,...

Tim Donnelly, who portrayed the fun-loving firefighter Chet Kelly on all six seasons of the 1970s NBC series Emergency!, has died. He was 77.

Donnelly died Friday at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of complications from surgery, his older brother, director Dennis Donnelly, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Donnelly had appeared on the Jack Webb-produced shows Dragnet and Adam-12 when he was cast as Chet on the Webb-produced Emergency!, which starred Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe as firefighter/paramedics and Robert Fuller, Julie London and Bobby Troup as doctors.

Working out of Station 51 of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Donnelly was on 122 ...

Tim Donnelly, who portrayed the fun-loving firefighter Chet Kelly on all six seasons of the 1970s NBC series Emergency!, has died. He was 77.

Donnelly died Friday at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of complications from surgery, his older brother, director Dennis Donnelly, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Donnelly had appeared on the Jack Webb-produced shows Dragnet and Adam-12 when he was cast as Chet on the Webb-produced Emergency!, which starred Randolph Mantooth and Kevin Tighe as firefighter/paramedics and Robert Fuller, Julie London and Bobby Troup as doctors.

Working out of Station 51 of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Donnelly was on 122 ...

Federal and California authorities, as well as the FBI, will monitor ongoing investigations into the hanging deaths of two black men, Robert Fuller and Malcolm Harsch, in towns outside of Los Angeles, The Associated Press reports.

Harsch and Fuller’s bodies were found within weeks of each other, in towns separated by about 50 miles. Harsch, 38, was found hanged from a tree on May 31st in Victorville, California, while Fuller, 24, was found June 10th in Palmdale, California. Local officials in both towns initially said there was no indication of foul play in both cases,...

It’s cold-blooded murder, I tell ya! Feisty Ruth Gordon goes undercover to find the evidence of homicide at Geraldine Page’s desert home, where companion-housekeepers keep disappearing. Robert Aldrich produced this marvelous, E-Ticket battle between celebrated actresses, and the result is a creative new solution for retirement finance problems!

What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 101 min. / Street Date January 8, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Geraldine Page, Ruth Gordon, Rosemary Forsyth, Robert Fuller, Mildred Dunnock, Joan Huntington, Peter Brandon, Michael Barbera, Peter Bonerz, Richard Angarola, Claire Kelly, Valerie Allen, Martin Garralaga.

Cinematography: Joseph Biroc

Film Editors: Frank J. Urioste, Michael Luciano

Original Music: Gerald Fried

Written by Theodore Apstein from a novel by Ursula Curtiss

Produced by Robert Aldrich

Directed by Lee H. Katzin (and Bernard Girard)

Few fans of Robert Aldrich’s The Dirty Dozen realize that he used the windfall profits...

Music agent Kevin Neal has joined Wme as a partner working out of its Nashville office, the agency said Monday. Neal joins Wme from Buddy Lee Attractions, where he served as president. He represents top country musicians Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line and Colt Ford. The move reunites Neal with former Buddy Lee CEO Joey Lee, agent to Miranda Lambert and Lee Ann Womack, who joined Wme in 2010 when the agency acquired Lee's 360 Artist Agency. Also read: Leaked! Inside Details of $2.45 Billion Wme-img Financing and Why an Ipo May Loom (Exclusive) Wme has amassed a substantial presence in Nashville.

Blu-ray Review

Return of the Magnificent Seven

Directed by: Burt Kennedy

Cast: Yul Brynner, Robert Fuller, Julian Mateos, Warren Oates, Virgilio Texeira, Claude Akins, Elisa Montes

Running Time: 1 hr 35 mins

Rating: Nr

Due Out: August 2, 2011

Plot: Legendary gunslinger Chris (Brynner) returns to Mexico with a new batch of six cowboys to save a vulnerable town from a terrorizing leader.

Who’S It For?: If you’re looking for another serving of Magnificent Seven-like awesomeness, look elsewhere. If bland gunplay provided by an excessive amount of dull characters is your thing, this movie might keep you awake.

Movie:

Return of the Magnificent Seven is infected with the same attribute that makes other unwarranted sequels suck. It abuses the power of the components that made the original so special, and it focuses on giving the audience a second helping of what they clamored for, but this time with a giant shoulder-shrug as they dish it out.

Chicago – Westerns are regularly “called up” to HD Blu-ray at two times during the year — Father’s Day and Christmas. It’s logical in a marketing sense that Clint Eastwood would dominate new release shelves during the seasons where dear old dad is likely to get a gift, but it leaves the rest of the year as barren as a ghost town. MGM has a little summer gift for fans of alpha males going through withdrawal — four classics of the genre hitting Blu-ray this month — “A Fistful of Dollars,” “For a Few Dollars More,” “The Magnificent Seven,” and “Return of the Magnificent Seven.”

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

As influential and enjoyable as John Sturges’ “The Magnificent Seven” is for a lot of viewers, my preferences in the quartet would side with the Sergio Leone & Clint Eastwood collaborations every time. I love the Man With No Name and the style that Leone brought to his filmography.

15. Lee Jeans -- Buddy Lee

14. McDonalds -- Larry Bird vs. Michael Jordan in a game of Pig

13. Mentos -- The Freshmaker

12. Bartles & Jaymes -- Thank You for Your Support

11. Grey Poupon -- Pardon Me, But Would You Have Any Grey Poupon?

10. Coca Cola Classic -- New Kids on the Block -- Can't Beat the Real Thing

9. Pace Picante Sauce -- Get a Rope

8. Reebok -- "Dan and Dave"

7. Taco Bell -- The Taco Bell Chihuaha

6. A & W Root Beer -- Dumbass

5. Nike -- "Chicks Dig the Long Ball"

4. Life Call -- I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up

3. Bugle Boy Jeans -- Are Those Bugle Boy Jeans You're Wearing?

2. Calvin Klein Underwear -- Marky Mark -- Nothing Come Between Me and My Calvins

1. 7Up -- "The 7Up Guy"...

At one time, Westerns were the most popular genre of television program. There were as many westerns on TV in the fifties and sixties as there are reality shows today. One of the longest running and most popular of these was The Virginian. It was among the first of the “Adult Westerns” (meaning it wasn’t the stereotypical white hat vs. the black hat shoot-em-up) and was the first 90-minute show of the Western genre.

The series starred James Drury as the unnamed hero, perpetually known only as “the Virginian”. It’s never made clear (at least, not in the first season) why the Virginian left his home to travel to Wyoming or why he never reveals his true name but no one in the series seems bothered by his secretive nature. Drury is one of the more laid back western heroes. He isn’t in the larger-than-life John Wayne mold.

This week sees the release of several new movies and TV shows, some for the first time ever on Blu-ray. Of the ones coming out this week, we’re excited for a few of them in particular.

These esteemed examples of entertainment include A Nightmare on Elm Street, Pirate Radio, the debut of Voltron Beast King Golion, the thirteenth season of Dallas, the DVD release of the very funny Defendor and the 15th Anniversary Blu-ray of Apollo 13 (pictured above with Bill Paxton, Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise and Kevin Bacon).

Check them out:

Movies

A Nightmare on Elm Street ~ Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon (Blu-ray)

Apollo 13 (15th Anniversary Edition) ~ Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise (Blu-ray)

Creature of Darkness ~ Devon Sawa, Sanoe Lake, Matthew Lawrence (Blu-ray and DVD)

Defendor ~ Woody Harrelson, Kat Dennings, Sandra Oh, Elias Koteas (DVD)

Final Storm ~ Luke Perry, Lauren Holly...

When NBC's Trauma series was first announced, more than a few TV viewers were reminded of the 1970s Emergency! TV show. Trauma Executive Producer Dario Scardapane says that's not a coincidence.

Emergency! revolves around a Los Angeles team of devoted paramedics, doctors, nurses, and firemen who are quick to respond when there's an accident or disaster. The cast includes Robert Fuller, Julie London, Bobby Troup, Randolph Mantooth, Kevin Tighe, Tim Donnelly, Mike Stoker, Marco Lopez, Michael Norell, and Ron Pinkard.

The series ran for six seasons on NBC, from 1972 until 1977. It was cancelled after 122 installments but members of the cast returned in five made-for-tv movies between 1978 and 1979.

In two of the TV movies, some of the characters visit San Francisco and one of the movies involves two airplanes crashing over a residential neighborhood. Up until...