NASCAR and Classic TV

NASCAR,The Chase,Part 2

This week,the 12 competitors in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup and 31 other drivers will race at Dover International Raceway in Delaware. While Greg Biffle is no doubt riding high from his win at New Hampshire,I'm sure he knows that one race win does not a championship make. As Jeff Burton noted,do not count Kyle Busch out. While Busch had a bad race at New Hampshire,he could make a strong comeback at Dover. Busch is still a force to be reckoned with. I notice now that Bill Kimm has decided to count Matt Kenseth out. Just a minute,Mr.Kimm. All Kenseth needs is a win or two and some top 5 or 10 finishes and he's a contender for the championship. It's too early to count anybody out. Good luck to Matt Kenseth,along with my sentimental favorite Bobby Labonte and others too numerous to mention in this blog.

HAPPY BELATED ANNIVERSARIES

"The Waltons" debuted on CBS on September 14,1972. "The Waltons" was a show filled with love,warmth,compassion for others,and the importance of faith,family,and community and a family enduring the trials of the Great Depression and World War II. It is a shame that these values have long since disappeared from prime time TV. In its beginning,nobody gave "The Waltons" a chance against two extremely popular shows, Flip Wilson on NBC,and "The Mod Squad" on ABC,yet the "little show that could" forced their competition off the air and secured a top 20 by the end of its first season. "The Waltons" scored as high as second in the Nielsen ratings and spawned a new genre,the family drama,with other shows such as "Little House on the Prairie",which debuted on NBC in 1974 and embraced values similar to "The Waltons",though in an earlier time,in the 1870s and 1880s,and based on author Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood,as "The Waltons" was based on the youth of its creator Earl Hamner Jr. Even after series star Richard Thomas ("John-Boy") left "The Waltons" in 1977, the show continued until CBS cancelled it in 1981. The later years also saw a prolonged absence by Ellen Corby("Grandma") after she suffered a stroke and returned to the series a year and a half later, and the death of Will Geer("Grandpa") in 1978 after filming had concluded on the sixth season. There were reunion movies filmed in the 1980s and 1990s. The show remains popular in reruns and is shown on the Hallmark channel.

On September 17,1964,"Bewitched" debuted on ABC. This was a magical sitcom about a witch,Samantha,played by Elizabeth Montgomery,who fell in love with mortal Darrin Stephens,an ad exec(played by Dick York and later Dick Sargent),and married him. Samantha had a bevy of relatives who popped in,including her mother Endora(played by the brilliant actress Agnes Moorehead),who strongly disapproved of her daughter's mortal marriage,her father Maurice(played by the magnificent Shakespearean actor Maurice Evans),who was not overly thrilled about having a mortal son-in-law either. Though there were relatives more supportive of Samantha and who liked Darrin,including Aunt Clara(played by comic actress Marion Lorne,who passed away after the fourth season),Uncle Arthur,Endora's practical-joking brother,played by actor/comedian Paul Lynde,and Samantha's look-alike cousin Serena,also played by Elizabeth Montgomery. Over the show's eight seasons,there were many changes,such as the birth of two children,witch daughter Tabitha,and son Adam,who showed some magical abilities in one episode in the final season. In 1969,Dick York left the series after collapsing on the set due to a dependence on pain-killers,on which he started after injuring his back on the set of a movie,resulting in back pain he suffered the rest of his life,until his death in 1992. Dick Sargent replaced York as Darrin. In 1991,Sargent publicly admitted he was gay and in 1994,died from complications resulting from AIDS. Elizabeth Montgomery,the show's star and daughter of screen legend Robert Montgomery,died in 1995 and is still loved by millions of fans worldwide. Ms.Montgomery had her star unveiled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame earlier this year. At the time "Bewitched" was filmed,Ms.Montgomery was, in real-life, married to its executive producer William Asher,whose previous experience includes working as a director/producer on "I Love Lucy". "Bewitched" is shown on WGN weekdays at 9:00 AM Eastern time. I wish though that WGN would show all eight seasons and not start with season three,the first season filmed in color. I am glad though that it's still being shown someplace. I plan on buying the DVDs,along with DVDs of "The Waltons","Little House on the Prairie",and my sci-fi favorites.