Show Notes
Hello! It's hot, hot, hot. It's the dog days of August, which means that here in Southern California there's only three months left of summer. But we have a great show today. Now, I have spoken frequently of my affection for ME-TV. For me, it's television comfort food. Star Trek, Voyage To the Bottom Of the Sea. Perry Mason. Now, these were not the shows on in prime time when I was a kid. But they were the re-runs that were on when I was a kid. They were the shows on in syndication, five days a week, in Boston on good ol' Channel 56 or Channel 38. So these were the shows that I grew up watching every day after school. I'm sure that's true for many of you as well. Well, as it turns out, most, not all, but most of these shows all came from the same TV season. Star Trek, Batman, The Monkees, Lost In Space… The network television season that began in the fall of 1966 was the first all-color television season in American. It was really the dawn of modern television and, of course, all the stuff we see today was already going on back then. And there's a new book about it called PrimeTime '66 – 67 by Tom Shubilla and here's here. And THEN, one of the giants of that era of television was Irwin Allen. Allen gave us Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea, Lost In Space, Land Of The Giants, The Time Tunnel and then turned around gave us The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno. A true giant of 60's TV and 70's film, and my good friend Bond, Jeff Bond has a new, massive book, It's not even a book, it's a tome, called The Fantasy Worlds Of Irwin Allen and he's here to talk about THAT. True Tales From Weirdsville is taking a deep dive into the mind of Bob Rafelson who not only created that gem of the 1966 TV season The Monkees, but also made the Monkees movie, HEAD, which is really about what a jerk you were if you liked the Monkees. Starring The Monkees. And then he made Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces. You know, just 'cause. And episode image by the great Drew Friedman, by the way!
More from The Dana Gould Hour
Hello! And welcome to September 2026 edition of the Dana Gould Hour Podcast. Fasten your funny belt, we are blasting off, yet again. Filmmaker Mike Mendez is here. Mike is a good friend of the show, and he has a new film out called Dernsie which is a documentary of the inimitable actor Bruce Dern that, get this, just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. And Mark Evanier is with us. Mark is a legendary comic book and television writer, with stories of being in the tranches from everyone from Jack Kirby to Sid & Marty Krofft, from Stan Lee to Pink Lady and Jeff. And he has deigned to share his stories with us. Mark is the author of Jack Kirby, King Of Comics, which is mandatory reading if you are in anyway interested in that world. And if you're listening to this podcast my guess is you are, and talk about his book. There are some great live performances coming up, so check out the events page at www.danagould.com/events/!
Hello! And welcome to season to the newest episode of The Dana Gould Hour podcast. Fasten your enthusiasm harness, we are blasting off, yet again.
Hello! And welcome to The Dana Gould Hour podcast. Fasten your fun belts, we are blasting off, yet again.
Hello! And welcome to The Dana Gould Hour Podcast. Fasten your enthusiasm harness, we are blasting off, yet again.
This is a very special episode in that is constituted of a series of deep dives into several different subjects in which I have a rabid interest. Hopefully you do as well. If not, you're in for a long-ass listen. Unless you're new to the show, you know of my deep and abiding interest in all things David Lynch. So, it was a pleasant surprise when I learned of the book A Place Both Wonderful and Strange: The Extraordinary Untold History of Twin Peaks by Scott Meslow. Scott has written for such publications as GQ, New York and The Atlantic. And his book is far too in depth and accomplished to have been thrown together as a quickie cash-in following Mr. Lynch's passing. Quite, as it turns out, the contrary. Scott had pitched his book years before and was well into the writing of it at the time of his passing. And he talks about how the attitudes of his interview subjects changed from before and then after that event. And the book itself if great. You don't have to be a Twin Peaks nut to enjoy it, as it's also a story of how an idea becomes a show, what happens when that show, which was always greater than the sum of its parts becomes a cultural touchstone, etc. etc. etc., Scott Meslow, the author of A Place Both Wonderful and Strange: The Extraordinary Untold History of Twin Peaks is here. As of that weren't enough, Thom Shubilla, who has been here before to discuss his books Prime Time 1966 – 1967: The Study Of Television's First All Color Season, and James Bond And The Sixties Spy Craze. He is also one of the producers of the documentary Drew Friedman Vermeer Of The Borscht Belt, and has another in series of "I Know Dana Gould Will Buy It So That's One Sale Right There" books, King Kong Vs. Godzilla: The Most Colossal Conflict The Screen Has Ever Known. It's ostensibly about the making of the 1962 Toho Studios love letter to me known as King Kong Vs, Godzilla, but it's also just a fantastic story of show biz and deal making. It has everything: guys selling properties they think they have the rights to but don't, guys selling properties they know they don't have the rights to but selling them anyway, and yes… murder. True Tales From Weirdsville takes a deep dive into the life career and bizarre death of 1950's scream queen. She made some weird ass movies, Attack Of The Fifty Foot Woman, Attack of The Giant Leeches, but what she did on screen could not compare to what happened in real life and that is a promise. The late, lovely and talented Yvette Vickers. For details and links to my upcoming appearances, please go to the live shows page at DanaGould.com. And now, it's on, to our filthy business.