Hitchcock may have had "Thriller" cancelled! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

MichaelKeith · 09-13-2010, 02:45 PM

There is no thread for that other great mystery/horror show "Thriller" so I'm writing this here. I was listening to the commentary track on one of the recently released Thriller DVD episodes and apparently Hitchcock didn't like that Revue/Universal was producing another mystery anthology series hosted by Boris Karloff "Thriller" and threatened to quit if they didn't cancel Thriller. Too bad as I love Boris Karloff and his show. Anyone else on here remember it and did you buy the new DVD yet. I did and it's great.

Rezny@gmail.com · 10-02-2010, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelKeith

There is no thread for that other great mystery/horror show "Thriller" so I'm writing this here. I was listening to the commentary track on one of the recently released Thriller DVD episodes and apparently Hitchcock didn't like that Revue/Universal was producing another mystery anthology series hosted by Boris Karloff "Thriller" and threatened to quit if they didn't cancel Thriller. Too bad as I love Boris Karloff and his show. Anyone else on here remember it and did you buy the new DVD yet. I did and it's great.

Oh,yes.I remember "Thriller"quite well.It featured lots and LOTS of TV stars-William Shatner,Rip Torn,Cloris Leachman,Leslie Nielsen,Elizabeth Montgomery,Robert Vaughn,Tom Poston,Dick York,Howard Morris,Marlo Thomas,ALL were stars on "Thriller".And it's about time this NBC/MCA-Universal TV little-known gem was released on DVD.

TV Knowledge Fan · 10-03-2010, 12:24 AM

...imposing enough to have "THRILLER" cancelled, but I seriously doubt he'd jeopardize his financially rewarding relationship with MCA/Universal over a rival TV series. Besides, NBC cancelled his half-hour series after two seasons [it had been on CBS for five previous seasons] at the same time they cancelled "THRILLER" after two seasons...only to have CBS reschedule Hitch's series as "THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR" in the fall of '62 {now, where do you suppose he got the idea to convert his weekly series into something resembling "THRILLER"?}.

What actually did "THRILLER" in was (as Hitch's half-hour NBC series) were mediocre ratings. The first season appeared on Tuesdays at 9pm(et), and managed to hold its own against CBS' "TOM EWELL SHOW" (which was cancelled after a single season) and the super-popular "RED SKELTON SHOW", and ABC's single-season Western, "STAGECOACH WEST". However, season two, in the fall of 1961, appeared on Mondays at 10pm(et), opposite the #1 series in that time period, ABC's "BEN CASEY", and CBS' combo of "HENNESSEY" (in its final season) and "I'VE GOT A SECRET" (which moved to an earlier time, 8pm, the following season). More viewers preferred to see Vince Edwards than Boris Karloff [except his loyal "fan base" at the time]. After the series ended, executive producer Hubbell Robinson put his production company in "mothballs", and went back to CBS as a programming executive...only to be fired a year later by president James T. Aubrey ("The Smiling Cobra"), who told him during a production meeting, "You're through, Hub."/"Well, actually, I'm not quite through with this.."/"No, I meant you're through."/"I'm going to talk to (Bill) Paley [head of the network] about this!"/"I've already discussed this with Paley. He accepts your resignation. I accept your resignation.". Boris Karloff fared better....

jehobden · 01-19-2014, 01:03 AM

Thriller is very well featured on Me-TV now, both weekday overnight at 2 AM CT and Sunday nights at 9 PM CT. I've enjoyed some episodes & hated others, but it appears that Karloff was trying to resemble Hitchcock's tone in the episode intros. Karloff also costarred in 5 episodes in addition to his hosting duties. It's a great place to see several movie/tv stars early in their careers. One of the best unintentional foreshadowings for me happened when in "Man in the Mirror", Lloyd Bochner's character toasted Marion Ross, playing his character's fiance, with "Happy days!". I'd love to see that clip in a Me-TV promo, especially now since Marion Ross herself is now appearing in new Me-TV promos.

10-03-2010, 12:24 AM	#3
TV Knowledge Fan Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 29, 2006 Location: Long Branch, N.J. Posts: 2,577	Hitchcock might have been... ...imposing enough to have "THRILLER" cancelled, but I seriously doubt he'd jeopardize his financially rewarding relationship with MCA/Universal over a rival TV series. Besides, NBC cancelled his half-hour series after two seasons [it had been on CBS for five previous seasons] at the same time they cancelled "THRILLER" after two seasons...only to have CBS reschedule Hitch's series as "THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR" in the fall of '62 {now, where do you suppose he got the idea to convert his weekly series into something resembling "THRILLER"?}. What actually did "THRILLER" in was (as Hitch's half-hour NBC series) were mediocre ratings. The first season appeared on Tuesdays at 9pm(et), and managed to hold its own against CBS' "TOM EWELL SHOW" (which was cancelled after a single season) and the super-popular "RED SKELTON SHOW", and ABC's single-season Western, "STAGECOACH WEST". However, season two, in the fall of 1961, appeared on Mondays at 10pm(et), opposite the #1 series in that time period, ABC's "BEN CASEY", and CBS' combo of "HENNESSEY" (in its final season) and "I'VE GOT A SECRET" (which moved to an earlier time, 8pm, the following season). More viewers preferred to see Vince Edwards than Boris Karloff [except his loyal "fan base" at the time]. After the series ended, executive producer Hubbell Robinson put his production company in "mothballs", and went back to CBS as a programming executive...only to be fired a year later by president James T. Aubrey ("The Smiling Cobra"), who told him during a production meeting, "You're through, Hub."/"Well, actually, I'm not quite through with this.."/"No, I meant you're through."/"I'm going to talk to (Bill) Paley [head of the network] about this!"/"I've already discussed this with Paley. He accepts your resignation. I accept your resignation.". Boris Karloff fared better....

09-13-2010, 02:45 PM	#1
MichaelKeith Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 01, 2007 Posts: 1,139	Hitchcock may have had "Thriller" cancelled! There is no thread for that other great mystery/horror show "Thriller" so I'm writing this here. I was listening to the commentary track on one of the recently released Thriller DVD episodes and apparently Hitchcock didn't like that Revue/Universal was producing another mystery anthology series hosted by Boris Karloff "Thriller" and threatened to quit if they didn't cancel Thriller. Too bad as I love Boris Karloff and his show. Anyone else on here remember it and did you buy the new DVD yet. I did and it's great.

01-19-2014, 01:03 AM	#4
jehobden Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: DFW Area, TX Posts: 2,004	Thriller is very well featured on Me-TV now, both weekday overnight at 2 AM CT and Sunday nights at 9 PM CT. I've enjoyed some episodes & hated others, but it appears that Karloff was trying to resemble Hitchcock's tone in the episode intros. Karloff also costarred in 5 episodes in addition to his hosting duties. It's a great place to see several movie/tv stars early in their careers. One of the best unintentional foreshadowings for me happened when in "Man in the Mirror", Lloyd Bochner's character toasted Marion Ross, playing his character's fiance, with "Happy days!". I'd love to see that clip in a Me-TV promo, especially now since Marion Ross herself is now appearing in new Me-TV promos.