Maverick on Cannon
With my wife being out for the part of the evening last night, I indulged in one of my current favorite "old" television shows. I have set up our DVR to record the wonderful show, "Cannon" which is playing daily on MeTV. It is a great show that stars the late, great William Conrad.
As usual, the show and its story did not disappoint. The theme music is wonderful in a trumpety early 1970's jazzy style. The guest stars are often well known faces today that were much younger renderings of themselves as they were just starting out. And the style, pacing, and cinematography of the 70s era detective dramas has such a wonderful, beautifully reminiscent pacing compared to today's shows.
But, besides all of the above truly wonderful attributes..... there was still more for me! One feature I love about watching older shows is seeing a whole array of bygone era vehicles that I love and miss from back in the day. The vehicle that stuck my fancy last night was the Ford Maverick. I have not seen one in ages nor thought of one. I forgot how "interesting" in a "70's cool-vibe" sort of way they were! Yes, I know they were of modest quality at best, yes they had the same sorts of exploding gas tank issues as the Pinto, and all the other challenges they had as well.
But.... seeing one on tv. One that was new, and beautiful, and shinny. It was fun. It brought back a lot of good memories. I would love to find one and take a drive in in for an hour or so. The tactile sensations, the sounds, the smells.... would be able to elicit great memories.
PipeTobacco
12 Comments:
Regarding your enjoyment of the show, is it a coincidence that, particularly in the show's earlier seasons, we often saw Frank Cannon with a pipe? Perhaps as a professor you also enjoy Sally Field's 1965 TV show "Gidget" in which her professor father, played by Don Porter, is often seen with a pipe?
I owned a Maverick! Red color with black roof. Served me well as my post-grad vehicle. A greatly under-rated car for sure.
A red 1970 Maverick was the first car that I purchased.
One of the great things about watching old television is the time-stamp aspect of it. Adds a whole other level of enjoyment...
Pat:
Yes, I always enjoyed William Conrad’s characters... even though he did not look like him, Conrad’s mannerisms and demeanor always remind me of my father. And from Cannon (as well as other instances) you could easily tell that Conrad was a pipe smoker in real life.
While I liked the show, Gidget, and I recall Porter being a pipe smoker in that role, I also recall his portrayal of pipe smoking was very “acted” and I doubt he was a pipe smoker in real life. Usually, it is easy to tell those actors who are/were pipe smokers in real life.
And, yes, watching Canon DOES have that enjoyable aspect as well. You must also be a Cannon fan too, to have noticed the differences you mention. In the earlier years 71, 72, & even in 73, Cannon was often shown with his pipe. Although not absent, it was less frequent in 74, 75, and the series conclusion in 76.
PipeTobacco
My neighbor had a really nice looking “creamy orange” (think Velveeta cheese) Mercury Comet (the Mercury version of the Maverick) that I always liked.
PipeTobacco
One feature I always liked for some reason on the four door Maverick was how the placement of the outside door handles for the rear doors were noticeably higher in position than were the handles on the front doors. I think I found it intriguing because it is the only vehicle that had this slightly different positioning of what were otherwise the same door handles. I thought it looked quite nice.
PipeTobacco
I agree! They bring back such memories!
ME TV does bring back some fond memories.
Coffee is on
I've recently started watching The Crown and, as well as finding out a lot about British political history, it's interesting to see the old cars and, indeed, fashions and home styles. Not to mention public attitudes to the monarchy, women, and the class system.
I really like having MeTV!!!!
I find it just adds so much added fun to watching old shows to see the environment of the time!
PipeTobacco
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