tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post6790023637408033772..comments2024-03-27T05:54:38.797-07:00Comments on <i>bare</i>•bones e-zine: Robert Bloch on TV Part Seventeen-The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: Off SeasonJohn Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14082147756474762000noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-4324692684518532902016-07-28T06:46:49.227-07:002016-07-28T06:46:49.227-07:00It's not a bad episode, but Gavin is stiff and...It's not a bad episode, but Gavin is stiff and the ending is a mess.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-89731051121204080392016-07-27T21:34:57.012-07:002016-07-27T21:34:57.012-07:00I like the episode better than you do, Jack, due t...I like the episode better than you do, Jack, due to if nothing else the Psycho connections (Gavin, the motel, the rather passive lawman). Psychologically, you're spot on re the issues with John Gavin's character. I wish they'd given him more back story (PTSD? Korean War vet?). Richard Jaeckal never seemed to lose that punk quality, and he was just fine in his role. It's a well made episode rather than a good story, such as there's a story. <br /><br />They'd have done better to have had a brainstorming session, especially as they must have known that Off Season was going to be the show's final episode, and focus on character development over plot. I can scarcely remember the plot points, but the main character was unforgettable. Limited actor he may have been, when well cast, John Gavin could deliver the goods. Another thing I like about this one: Gavin is almost never likable on screen, even when playing the good guy (!), and this really works in Off Season's favor.john kenrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00710666533854296630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-49517428440106126512013-06-01T08:40:02.093-07:002013-06-01T08:40:02.093-07:00Thanks for reading, Grant! I've started to cat...Thanks for reading, Grant! I've started to catch a few Columbos on ME TV and they are still great.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-84134836150755775442013-05-30T21:17:34.095-07:002013-05-30T21:17:34.095-07:00Like Harvey Chartrand, I've just never had a p...Like Harvey Chartrand, I've just never had a problem with John Gavin as an actor, even though it seems kind of a popular opinion to have.<br /><br />This episode would be interesting to COLUMBO fans, because the police psychiatrist is played by Fred Draper, one of those character actors who show up in one COLUMBO after another, in big or small parts.Grantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-35030822757488797232012-07-17T04:58:08.023-07:002012-07-17T04:58:08.023-07:00Thanks Harvey! I hope you continue as I explore ot...Thanks Harvey! I hope you continue as I explore other episodes, starting with the Shatner twosome!Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-57488034505930112312012-07-16T12:49:03.443-07:002012-07-16T12:49:03.443-07:00OFF SEASON was a good suspenser for the AHH series...OFF SEASON was a good suspenser for the AHH series to go out on. Starts off with a bang: the totally unjustified killing of an old wino in a back alley by a trigger-happy cop (the bum looked like Cyril Delevanti's twin brother). Three slugs to the chest for a stolen bottle of muscatel. No way could that bottle be mistaken for a gun. I thought John Gavin played his part well. (I also liked Gavin as a clean-cut and respectable young doctor infatuated with slatternly bottled blonde lounge singer Diana Dors in the 1963 AHH episode RUN FOR DOOM.) The way Gavin's jealous cop falls apart in the sock finish was most convincing. I liked OFF SEASON's dreary PSYCHO-like ambience (barren woodlands seen mostly at night, abandoned cottages and semi-vacant rustic motels) – or perhaps director William Friedkin was recycling sets from FINAL PERFORMANCE. OFF SEASON is the perfect title for the final episode of THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR. Ten years is a good run, but that show should have lasted forever.Harvey Chartrandnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-5919844986271824292012-06-14T20:43:24.009-07:002012-06-14T20:43:24.009-07:00Jack, I thought you were joking earlier, a few day...Jack, I thought you were joking earlier, a few days ago, when you mentioned doing all the ALFRED HITCHCOCK episodes, so this is great news that you intend to do the entire series.<br /><br />When you do the Ray Bradbury story, THE JAR, I hope you cover all three versions. A couple years ago I watched all of them on dvd:<br /><br />1--It first appeared on the ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR in 1964.<br /><br />2--Second adaptation on ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS in 1986.<br /><br />3--Third version adapted for RAY BRADBURY THEATER in 1992.<br /><br />The hour long version was the best by far but it was very interesting to see the differences in the three shows.Walker Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16089880902426182100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-58226839626956046292012-06-14T15:22:48.686-07:002012-06-14T15:22:48.686-07:00Thanks, Matthew. I find it hard to believe that Hi...Thanks, Matthew. I find it hard to believe that Hitch was hanging around the set when Friedkin directed this episode.<br /><br />And thanks, Walker! I'm glad you liked the series.<br /><br />My plan is to do all 361 episodes but to link them by themes rather than plodding through them chronologically.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-81450840818642775112012-06-14T15:01:07.972-07:002012-06-14T15:01:07.972-07:00I'm sorry to see this series end. I read the s...I'm sorry to see this series end. I read the story by Hoch in my January 1965 AHMM and thought it was ok but nothing special. I did find it hard to believe that the sheriff would keep a deputy that had mistakenly shot a man. <br /><br />The TV adaptation was ok also but I couldn't tell the difference between the two women. Still, it's fun comparing the short story to the TV version.Walker Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16089880902426182100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-29124290289765225232012-06-14T10:34:23.691-07:002012-06-14T10:34:23.691-07:00An excellent conclusion to your Bloch series, Jack...An excellent conclusion to your Bloch series, Jack. Look forward with pleasure to seeing you embark upon your next subject.<br /><br />If the show's executive producer, longtime Hitchcock associate Norman Lloyd (quoted by John McCarty and Brian Kelleher in their book ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS), is to be believed, Friedkin also wrongly asserted that it was Hitch who "discovered" him. According to Lloyd, MCA agent Joe Wizan brought Friedkin to the attention of Lloyd, who hired him to direct "Off Season" after seeing his documentary THE PEOPLE VS. PAUL CRUMP.Matthew Bradleyhttp://bradleyonfilm.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.com