Out of the Blue (1979) question...

[Vinni_Rattolle]

Aside from the episode "The Hustle," which I obtained a shaky copy of (for an outrageous fee) and leaked online, my memories of the 1979 show "Out of the Blue" are REALLY vague cuz I was pretty young. (And please don't start on the whole annoying "it was a spinoff" debate -- in order to qualify as a spinoff, Random would've had to have appeared on "Happy Days" LONG before they developed a whole show around him). But I'm suddenly intrigued...

In a book about Eileen Heckart that I stumbled upon on Google Books, it's mentioned how cast members kept getting fired (the only one cited by name is Dixie Carter) and ABC tried putting the show on Saturday mornings, which enraged Heckart. I've looked it up and can't find any proof that it ever aired on Saturday mornings. I have, however, come to the conclusion that a few cast members were dropped.

I just obtained 18 photos from the show, which appear to be from a array of episodes (though the only one I can pinpoint to a specific episode is from "Out for the Season"). The thing that really confused me is the cast list that came with the pictures. Heckart (who doesn't appear in any of the photos), Carter, Olivia Barash and Clark Brandon aren't cited. But it says "Chris: Rad Daly." Chris was originally portrayed by Brandon, but there's no question that Rad Daly is in some of the cast photos which don't feature Brandon, Barash or Carter. First I've ever heard of the ridiculous replacement -- Daly is 8 years younger than Brandon! Here's the pics with Daly:

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopo...02264/cat/1814
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopo...02234/cat/1814
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/photopo...02271/cat/1814

So now that I've blathered on endlessly, the question is: Did any episodes with Rad Daly actually air? And furthermore, are there any other episodes of the show floating around in TV-trader fandom (cuz I've never found any more!)?

[70s show watcher]

i do remember that the pilot ep reaired on saturday morning about a week after its first airing in its regular sunday night timeslot i know this because i watched both airings

[Vinni_Rattolle]

Interesting. Maybe it was just that one airing then (I can't seem to find any citations of Saturday airings in the newspaper archive). The book on Heckart is very vague in it's information about the show and was written by her son. Here's the two paragraphs about "Out of the Blue":

Her first regular role in a sitcom was Out of the Blue. Capitalizing on the recent success of the film Heaven Can Wait, starring Warren Beatty, the show starred Dixie Carter and a comic named James Brogan. Where the film had great heart, pathos and a degree of sophistication, the series was downright silly. The plot revolved around an angel who came back to earth to do good deeds. Heckart played the boss angel, who popped in for one or two scenes each week to check up on her employee. Her gimmick was that she wore a different hat every week. One time it would be a bowler, the next a fedora, a beanie, and so on.

The only saving grace for mama was Dixie Carter. She and Dixie liked each other instantly and they remained friends for many years. When the writing on the show went from bad to worse, the producers started moving the time slot every few weeks. They even tried it on Saturday mornings, which infuriated Heckart. "I did NOT sign on to do a goddamn kiddie show!" she said. The fact that James Brogan, who carried the show, was a stand-up comic with very little acting experience didn't help matters any. The producers started firing actors one by one. Ultimately they replaced everyone except Heckart and Brogan. When Dixie Carter was let go, Mama was livid. "Who do you have to f*** to get fired from this show?" she said to one of the producers. That week, the wardrobe supervisor came to her. "Eileen," he said, "we thought you might to wear this as your hat this week." It was tall, black, pointed witch hat. Mama cracked up. She was the first to admit her behavior had been less than sterling. Two weeks later, the show was canceled and she hopped on a plane to Connecticut as soon as possible. "One of my biggest fears," she said to me, "is that ABC will run out of summer replacements sometime and show reruns of Out of the Blue."

[TVFactFan]

You are complaining about a SHAKY COPY of a show that only lasted 3 months in 1979? I would love to have a SHAKY COPY of the episode with Mork from Mork and Mindy appearing in the first episode

And yes the show was not a spinoff, it was just a crossover episode with Happy Days to increase the ratings

[Vinni_Rattolle]

First of all, thank you for backing me up TVFactFan; the spinoff debate is moronic!

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

You are complaining about a SHAKY COPY of a show that only lasted 3 months in 1979? I would love to have a SHAKY COPY of the episode with Mork from Mork and Mindy appearing in the first episode

Maybe it'll make more sense when you hear the rest of the story... About 10 years ago, I paid a guy $100 for two SP videotapes -- half of what was included was not what was promised (there were supposed to be two episodes of "Out of the Blue" and instead of sending the episodes I was missing of "Filthy Rich," he mostly sent ones I told him I already had pristine copies of). It took him four months to finally send the tapes, and once the money was in his hand, he never responded to an email again. So yeah, not a good experience. Wasn't anywhere near as disappointed in the quality as the other frustrations associated with the transaction -- but the quality was the icing on the cake.

There's also an episode of "On Our Own" from '78 on the second tape that's virtually unwatchable; the picture rolls continuously, the soundtrack is practically inaudible and there's a very loud, high-pitched buzzing throughout. To boot, I wanted it for Dixie Carter and she's not even in the episode. So in the end, the only things worthwhile were one episode of "Out of the Blue" and one episode of "Filthy Rich" out of four hours of tape -- certainly not worth $100. This experience is exactly why I don't charge anyone more than the cost of shipping and blanks for copies of rarities from my collection.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Vinni_Rattolle

Maybe it'll make more sense when you hear the rest of the story... About 10 years ago, I paid a guy $100 for two SP videotapes -- half of what was included was not what was promised (there were supposed to be two episodes of "Out of the Blue" and instead of sending the episodes I was missing of "Filthy Rich," he mostly sent ones I told him I already had pristine copies of). It took him four months to finally send the tapes, and once the money was sent, he never responded to an email again. So yeah, not a good experience. Wasn't anywhere near as disappointed in the quality as the other frustrations associated with the transaction -- but the quality was the icing on the cake.

There's also an episode of "On Our Own" from '78 on the second tape that's virtually unwatchable; the picture rolls continuously, the soundtrack is practically inaudible and there's a very loud, high-pitched buzzing throughout. So in the end, I wound up with one episode of "Out of the Blue" and one episode of "Filthy Rich" out of four hours of tape that were actually worthwhile to me -- certainly not worth $100. This experience is exactly why I don't charge anyone more than the cost of shipping and blanks for copies of rarities from my collection.

The only ep of Out of the Blue have is "surprise party"

[Vinni_Rattolle]

I surmise "Surprise Party" is actually titled "The Hustle," which is the episode I've got and put on You Tube. The kids combine their money to buy a birthday present for their Aunt but Chris loses the cash to a pool shark (Dermott Downs).

[TVFactFan]

Wish the ep with Mork would surface someday

[Vinni_Rattolle]

Me too! Never say never. I'm willing to bet somebody, somewhere has a copy and doesn't even realize what they've got. (I spent more than a decade trying to complete my "Filthy Rich" collection and finally found the last two episodes late last year.) An official DVD with all the unaired episodes would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath for that!

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by Vinni_Rattolle

Me too! Never say never. I'm willing to bet somebody, somewhere has a copy and doesn't even realize what they've got. (I spent more than a decade trying to complete my "Filthy Rich" collection and finally found the last two episodes late last year.) An official DVD with all the unaired episodes would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath for that!

Any other short lived shows you have from the 1975-85 era?

[Vinni_Rattolle]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

Any other short lived shows you have from the 1975-85 era?

Not much that's not officially on DVD. Didn't get my first VCR until 1986 (and didn't start taping shows regularly until 1994). I've got an episode of "Best of the West" somewhere, a few eps of "Hello Larry," "The Ropers," "Three's a Crowd," and doubtlessly other stuff I either downloaded or got in trades.

[TVFactFan]

I have

Roll Out from 1973

On the Rocks friom 1975

The McLean Stevenson Show from 1976

Lewis and Clark from 1981

Just our Luck from 1983

Charlie and Company from 1985