My Trio

I guess Joe Klein is an okay guy. I've never met him. He seems to have a bit of a wit, for someone who works at Time Magazine, the world's capitol of gravitas and all that. In the end, there is nothing wrong with Joe Klein that a robust multivitamin couldn't remedy. But what was he thinking when Trio TV gave him the gig of a lifetime? I mean, who wants to watch endless hours of Battle of the Network Stars?
Who even watched Battle of the Network stars back then, when Telly Savalas and Gabe Kaplan had juice? Not me: and I was a hip 6 year old. Who loves ya, baby?

Now, If Laura Zalaznick of Trio Tv called The Corsair (call me, Laura, call ... me ...) and asked: What low budget high quality shows would you program for Trio TV? Remember, we only have a fraction of the network budgets, but we want high quality. I would say: Laura, have you ever read my blog? I am all about low budget high quality.

Anyhoo: These are some of my picks:

Masterpiece Theater: Last of the Mohicans. No, not the cheesy Michael Mann MTV video. This is the real deal. The French and Indian War. The drama. For some bizarre reason the Masterpiece Theater programs made in the 7os -- arguably the best programming of all time -- languish in somneone's vault.

Alice: I've always wondered if this was a comedy or a tragedy or a "dramedy", that significant 70s cultural artifact. A single mom who sings Bradway showtunes working to support her kid in Arizona on diner tips. If you take out the laugh track, this could easily be a David Lynchian show, no? Without the laugh track it could be an American drama drenched in pathos, like Dreiser's Sister Carrie.
Don't even get us started on the great Vic Tayback banging the pick up bell with his spatula like the true character actor he was.

Rich Man Poor Man: Observe Nick Nolte before the fermented grape stole his looks. Then again, there is charm in Nolte's whiskey ravaged grim visage.

Poldark: This cult British tv series is habit forming. Incredible. Just incredible.

Assorted Good Times episodes: Come on, you know you had a crush on Wilona when you were kid, don't you; or, if you were a girl, Bookman the janitor was your long cold drink of water. The one where Michael gets drunk off some "elixir" was a classic. So was the episode when James has hypertension. So was ... hey ... was this a comedy or what?

The Big Blue Marble: My favorite show as a kid, if you must know.

Carl Sagan's Cosmos: Okay, so in the madcap world of astrophysics Sagan's hypotheses are probably all outmoded already. So what? This series was the bomb! Classics do not get outmoded. We want astrophysics!

Fame the TV Series: Why are there not repeats on VH1 already? When you say low budget and high quality I think .. right here's where you start paying for it ... with pain ... and sweat.

Schoolhouse Rock: The Figure Eight. Mysterious, melancholy and mathematically instructional.

The Black Stallion: This Coppolla produced flic is perhaps the most beautiful filmed movie ever.

The Gore Vidal-Bill Buckley Fight It was in the heart of the 60s. The left and the right clash violently on national television. A classic.

Woody Allen's Teleplay: Don't Drink the Water. One of the most interesting experiments ever. Woody Allen directs and writes a teleplay starring Michael J Fox and the kid who played Blossom.

Okay, so those are some of my Trio picks. And you have to admit it is a hell of a lot better than Battle of the Network Stars.