Tag: ABC

Who Remembers “The New People”?

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I remember The New People, but oddly enough I remember the sound of the show more than I remember the stories. There was this strange little segue or transition sound they used between scenes that somehow stuck with me all these years. Hearing it again instantly brought the show back.

The New People premiered on ABC in September 1969 with a very late-’60s premise: a group of college students survives a plane crash on a deserted South Pacific island that had been prepared for an atomic test. The island came complete with buildings, supplies and even nuclear-test mannequins, giving the young survivors everything they needed to try building a new society from scratch.

There were some impressive names behind it. Aaron Spelling helped create the series, and Rod Serling wrote the original pilot. ABC also gave the show an unusual 45-minute time slot and paired it with The Music Scene in an effort to attract younger viewers.

The series only lasted 17 episodes, airing from September 1969 to January 1970, but it had some interesting future stars pass through. Richard Dreyfuss, Billy Dee Williams, Tyne Daly, Susan Howard and A Martinez all appeared during its short run.

The regular cast never produced a huge breakout star, although Tiffany Bolling went on to become a familiar face in cult films and television.

And then there’s that sound.

Does anybody else remember The New People — and do you remember that strange little transition sound too?

ABC “Meet Us in September” — 1969

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I remember this song like it was yesterday, played dozens of times a day on ABC to promote the new season. I was hoping to find the writer or performer of the song, but no luck this time.

“Meet Us in September” was ABC’s big promotional campaign for the fall of 1969, and looking back at what ABC was introducing that season, they had plenty to promote. The Brady Bunch, Marcus Welby, M.D., Room 222, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, Love, American Style and ABC’s Movie of the Week were all part of that new season.

The graphics in this clip were created by Harry Marks, one of the pioneers of television motion graphics. That same year Marks worked with Douglas Trumbull, who had done groundbreaking visual-effects work on 2001: A Space Odyssey, to create the memorable opening for ABC’s Movie of the Week.

I really thought finding out who wrote and sang the catchy “Meet Us in September” jingle would be the easy part. Surprisingly, the surviving archival material credits Marks for the visuals but doesn’t identify a songwriter or the studio singers. Rather than guess and attach somebody’s name to it, we’ll have to leave that one a mystery for now.

ABC was still battling CBS and NBC for viewers, but this season brought some major successes. Marcus Welby finished #8 during its first season and, the following year, became the first ABC series ever to finish #1 in the ratings.

It’s funny how a little network promo like this can stick in your head for more than half a century. Does anyone else remember ABC playing “Meet Us in September” over and over as the new fall season approached?

The Avengers Intro 1965

The Avengers was a British espionage series that first aired on ABC American Broadcasting Network but produced by the Associated British Corporation ABC, also known as Thames Television after the two merged in 1968. The Avengers was the first British television series on air on US prime time. ABC-TV paid $2 million dollars for the series which was an extremely high price at the time. The show now could be recorded on 35mm film not videotape as in the first year. It was the practice of the day to reuse videotape and as a result, all but three of the first season episodes were reused and erased. Only 3 first season episodes are known to exist.

 The main characters were Patrick Macnee as John Steed and Diana Rigg played Emma Peel.

 The Avengers played opposite NBC’s British Show The Saint. Other stars were Ian Hendry as Dr. David Keel and Cathy Gale as Honor Blackman. The series ran from 1961 to 1969. Diana Rigg joined the series in in 1965 but left in 1967. She was unhappy with the way she felt she was treated by the producers. She was also upset the cameramen was paid more than she was paid.

 The theme song used in this intro was first used in 1965. The theme was called the Shake based on the Shake Dance craze during the 1960’s

 TV Guide ranked The Avengers as #20 of the Top Cult Shows Ever.

Order the 1965 Series on DVD here: 

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Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley Duet

Two icons from two generations.  Elvis sings Frank Sinatra’s Witchcraft and Frank Sinatra sings Elvis’ Love Me Tender.  This was a Welcome Home Elvis show by Timex in 1960 to welcome Elvis home from the Army.  It aired on May 12, 1960 on ABC TV.

https://www.yourememberthat.com/files/7f5a7a61168f.mp4
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