Delvecchio with Judd Hirsch

I don't have many posts specifically about my two favorite shows -- "The Rockford Files" and "Hill Street Blues" -- but I do have many posts which connect the two (such as recent items about their spinoffs, "Richie Brockelman" and "Beverly Hills Buntz"). So here's one more... "Delvecchio" aired during the 1976-77 season and starred Judd Hirsch (later of one of my favorite sitcoms, "Taxi") and Charles Haid (Renko on HSB). Their Lieutenant was played by Michael Conrad (also from HSB), and several future HSB castmembers have guest shots: James B. Sikking, Kiel Martin, and George Wyner. As far as connecting HSB and TRF, numerous character actors (such as Pepe Serna and Bruce Kirby) appeared on all three shows. Most importantly, "Delvecchio" was run by Stephen Bochco and Michael Kozoll -- who would co-create HSB. (Several TRF directors helmed "Delvecchio" episodes, too). Here's an episode guide, with video links. I've pieced this information together from several sources, as well as prints I had access to at one time. Note that Wikipedia lists 20 episodes, with two unaired. I actually believe only 20 were produced and aired.

1--The Avenger: September 9, 1976

(Dir: Jerry London/W: Joseph Polizzi [aka Joseph Gunn]) Production code 44724

This title is listed as episode 2 by IMDB and Wikipedia, airing September 26. Episode 1 is listed as simply "Delvecchio," airing September 9. IMDB's plot, cast, and writer listings for both episodes are the same, however. CBS head Bud Grant had wanted to debut the series when "there was less competition," and so ran a "preview" (as listed in TV Guide) on Thursday, Sept. 9 against NCAA football on ABC (UCLA vs. Arizona State) and a UFO movie on NBC. The description was as follows, with no episode title:

With Bella Bruck. A preview of the new series debuting Sept. 26. Det. Delvecchio of the metropolitan police investigates the death of his informant who dies from a drug overdose just before he was to deliver critical information.

This is the plot of "The Avenger," and I originally believed it aired on Sept. 9 and again on Sunday, Sept. 26 in the regular 10pm slot (against NBC's "Big Event" and a high-rated movie on ABC).

However, based on production codes, it actually seems that "High Price of Justice" aired as episode 3 -- meaning "Contract for Harry" aired Sept. 26 and NOT October 3 (as listed by most sources). Epguides ignores the Sept. 9 preview entirely, lists "The Avenger" as airing Sept. 26, and then puts "High Price of Justice" as episode 20 (see below), which is unlikely.

Some sources (IMDB) credit Sam Rolfe as co-writer. He co-created the series, but Polizzi is the sole on-screen credit for this script (listed as Joseph Gunn on IMDB). 

2--Contract for Harry: September 29, 1976

(Dir: Walter Doniger/W: Joseph Polizzi)

3--High Price of Justice: October 3, 1976

(Dir: Jerry London/Story by: Sam Rolfe & Joseph Polizzi, Teleplay by: Sam Rolfe) Production code 44701

Plot: Delvecchio reluctantly pressures a recent parolee (Pepe Serna) to help infiltrate and implicate his old gang.

Notes: Epguides lists this as airing March 20, 1977 -- the week after the final episode. It's listed as an unaired final episode by IMDB (#22), with a different episode airing as #21 (see below).

However, records show that CBS aired "The Wizard of Oz" on March 20, followed by a Bing Crosby special (Bing!) and then the pilot for the short-lived Susan Dey sitcom "Loves Me, Loves Me Not" (created by Susan Harris). That show was rushed into production, so I doubt a "Delvecchio" episode was scheduled for March 20. A rerun of "Silent Prey" did air March 27... but why would the network rerun an episode if they had one or two new ones in-the-can?

Further confirming this episode's airdate, it was listed as episode 3 by TVLand. It's clearly one of the first (if not the first) episodes produced, since Del is seen calling for his bar exam results. The production code would also indicate an early episode (although the PCs are all over the map for the rest of the series).

Among Pepe Serna's hundreds of memorable screen credits, he had a brief-but-memorable role in the season 3 "Rockford" episode "The Oracle Wore a Cashmere Suit." He would later show up in two different roles in crucial episodes of "Hill Street Blues": season 5's Emmy-nominated "The Rise and Fall of Paul the Wall," which was part of a long-running story arc involving Henry Goldblume, and season 7's "Suitcase," which partly sets up the series' final episodes.

4--Good Cop: October 10, 1976

(Dir: Richard Michaels/W: Peter S. Fischer) Production code 44718

5--Board of Rights: October 17, 1976

(Dir: Robert Markowitz/W: Gregory K. Scott)

6--Wax Job: October 24, 1976

(Dir: Richard Michaels/Story by: Bernard Rollins & Leroy Robinson, Teleplay by: Steven Bochco) Production code 44719

Plot: Del and Shonski pursue a high-profile car thief whose crimes escalate to murder after he kills a man trying to prevent his car from being stolen.

7--The Silent Prey: October 31, 1976

(Dir: Lou Antonio/Story by: Nicholas E. Baehr, Teleplay by: Nicholas E. Baehr & Steven Bochco) Production code 44704

8--Thicker Than Water: November 7, 1976

(Dir: John Peyser/Story by: William Sackheim & Michael Rhodes & Steven Bochco, Teleplay by: Steven Bochco)

Plot: Del attempts to dissuade a man from seeking revenge for his brother's murder.

9--Hot Spell: November 14, 1976

(Dir: Arnold Laven/W: Michael Kozoll) Production code 44723

10--Numbers: December 5, 1976

(Dir: Richard Michaels/W: Leo Garen) Production code 44716

11--Red is the Color of My True Love's Hair: December 12, 1976

(Dir: Walter Doniger/Story by: Gy Waldron, Teleplay by: Steven Bochco & Michael Kozoll & Gy Waldron)

Plot: A long-haul truck driver is suspected of being a serial killer, but Del begins to suspect they have the wrong man after seeing how gentle he is with women.

Notes: Guest stars Kiel Martin.

12--APB: Santa Claus: December 26, 1976

(Dir: Arnold Laven/W: Steven Pritzker) Production code 44737

13--Dying Can Be a Pleasure: January 23, 1977

(Dir: Walter Doniger/Story by: William Sackheim, Teleplay by: Steven Bochco) Production code 44726

Plot: A beautiful hit woman's latest target is Delvecchio.

14--One Little Indian: January 30, 1977

(Dir: Robert Markowitz/W: Steven Bochco) Production code 44717

Plot: Del and Shonski square off against a tyrannical sheriff when they go to a desert town to bring back a suspect.

15--Bad Shoot: February 6, 1977

(Dir: Ivan Dixon/W: Michael Kozoll) Production code 44733

Plot: A racist detective is forced to shoot a black suspect (legitimately), and he finds an ally in Delvecchio, who believes his story and tries to clear him despite pressure not to.

Notes: During the scene in this episode when Lt. Macavan is arguing with his superior, he mentions "Chief Daniels and Commander Swanson." Those two names would be reused throughout "Hill Street." It's not a coincidence...

This episode's script would be resurrected more than four years later. In 1980, NBC ordered 13 episodes of "Hill Street Blues." Network President Fred Silverman had originally planned to promote the show during the Moscow Olympics, but the U.S. boycott abruptly quashed that plan. Not wanting HSB lost-in-the-shuffle of fall shows, the 13 episodes were delayed to run at midseason (January through March). They gained major critical acclaim -- but low ratings. Still, struggling NBC seized on any good press it could get, and at the last minute ordered four more episodes to air during May sweeps. These ran as a pair of 2-hour "movies" on consecutive Thursdays (May 19 and 26). Most of the plot was lifted from "Bad Shoot" and rewritten by Kozoll with Bochco and Gregory Hoblit. Those four episodes also introduced Ed Marinaro as Joe Coffey (which is why his contract ended four episodes before the end of season six... as opposed to cleanly ending with that season's finale).

16--Licensed to Kill: February 13, 1977

(Dir: Arnold Laven/Story by: William Sackheim & John D.F. Black, Teleplay by: Lane Slate & Michael Kozoll) Production code 44702

Plot: After Del's goddaughter commits suicide, he goes after the quack doctor who falsely told her she was dying.

17--The Madness Within: Part 1: February 20, 1977

(Dir: Richard Michaels/Story by: William Sackheim & Steven Bochco & Michael Rhodes, Teleplay by: Steven Bochco) Production code 44738

18--The Madness Within: Part 2: February 27, 1977

(Dir: Richard Michaels/Story by: William Sackheim & Steven Bochco & Michael Rhodes, Teleplay by: Steven Bochco) Production code 44739

Notes: IMDB lists this as airing Feb. 22, which seems like it would have been confusing to viewers and is wrong... all other sources list Feb. 27 in the show's regular Sunday night slot. 

19--Requiem for a Loser: March 6, 1977

(Dir: Ivan Nagy/Story by: Lou Comici & Burton Armus, Teleplay by: Burton Armus & Michael Kozoll) Production code 44715

Notes: Danny DeVito makes one of his earliest TV appearances in this episode, and actually shares the screen for a few minutes with his future "Taxi" co-star, Judd Hirsch. They would be "virtually" reunited with HSB when the two programs aired back-to-back from September 30, 1982 through December 30, 1982.

20--Cancelled Contract: March 13, 1977

(Dir: Arnold Laven/Story by: Elliot West, Teleplay by: Elliot West & Michael Kozoll) Production code 44736

Plot: Del's caught in the middle after a reformed gang leader, who killed a mobster's brother in self-defense, reforms his old gang to protect him from the vengeful mobster.

*My Brother's Keeper: "unaired"

Notes: Listed as the second-to-last episode produced by IMDB -- before "High Price of Justice" -- which seems to be incorrect. Based on the cast listed, this episode was probably confused with "Thicker Than Water" by IMDB (likely due to the plot about brothers in episode 7). It probably does not exist. No further information available.

Beverly Hills Buntz -- what happened?

Dennis Franz is best known for playing Andy Sipowicz on “NYPD Blue,” created by Stephen Bochco. Strangely, Bocho created “Hill Street Blues” and ran it for five seasons before getting fired – at which point the producers brought in Franz for the last two seasons. So, Bochco and Franz didn’t work together much, except on a season three HSB story arc, as well as the 1983-84 series “Bay City Blues.”

Anyhow, Bochco was busy with “L.A. Law” when HSB ended in 1987. Franz, meanwhile, was given a spin-off: “Beverly Hills Buntz.” It was short-lived, but did it deserve to be? NO – Buntz in his own series is so much more interesting than Andy Sipowicz.

For the 1987-88 season, NBC programming chief Brandon Tartikoff called “Buntz” a “designated hitter.” That meant it would air in a rotation with two other shows: “Mama’s Boy” and “The Bronx Zoo.” In the end, it was a big mess and all three shows died because the scheduling was so erratic. Scheduling notes for all three programs follow.

“Mama’s Boy” was a half-hour sitcom starring Bruce Weitz – Det. Belker on HSB – as a swinging single sportswriter who takes in his widowed Mother, played by Nancy Walker (aka Rhoda’s Mom). It was shot on tape and created by the team behind “The Golden Girls” (on which Walker had guested several times as Sophia’s sister). If this sounds strange, remember that Belker was constantly on-the-phone with his Mother during HSB.

“The Bronx Zoo” was an hour drama. It had actually debuted at mid-season in the spring of 1987 and starred Ed Asner as a high school principal. After “St. Elsewhere” had finished its season in March, 1987, “The Bronx Zoo” took over the Wednesday night slot until summer. It was from the creative team behind “Family Ties.” Interesting connection: its lead-in was “The Tortellis,” which starred Dan Hedaya, who landed on “Mama’s Boy.”

“Mama’s” debuted in September, following an episode of “The Golden Girls.” It aired again in October. “Buntz” debuted November 5. On Thanksgiving, the third episode (really the pilot) of “Mama’s” aired. That should have been a sign: the next episode wouldn’t air until April, 1988, followed by another in June and then August. The seventh episode never aired.

“Buntz” got its second airing the Sunday after Thanksgiving, ranking third in the time slot opposite the film “The Long Journey Home” on CBS. Another interesting connection: the film starred Meredith Baxter of “Family Ties.”

“The Bronx Zoo” finally returned on December 9, followed by the next “designated hit” on Christmas Eve with episode three of “Beverly Hills Buntz.” With 1988 looming, it was probably apparent that the experiment was a flop, and the three shows were going to be burned off. Except for one “Bronx” and one “Buntz” in late January, the shows wouldn’t return until midseason (March, 1988). I’ve never seen “The Bronx Zoo,” but “Buntz” was just hitting its stride. In fact, the last episode to air (“Carl” on April 22) was one of its best.

It seems that with better scheduling, the show might have worked. And certainly the big promotional push for the pilot was a mistake, because it was not very good.  In this Nov. 2 review by David Bianculli, from NPR’s “Fresh Air,” he says frequent HSB director Gabrielle Beaumont helmed the pilot. The as-aired pilot was directed by Hal Ashby – a big name in film who had fallen on hard times. Getting him attached was a coup, but the pilot simply feels disjointed. Judge for yourself: some kind soul has posted all 13 episodes of “Buntz” online (links in schedule notes). Another review from the New York Times is here, with a 1992 follow-up article that has a brief mention here.

THE DESIGNATED HITTERS: 

*MAMA 1 "Bachelor of the Year" September 19, 1987: aired after Golden Girls; #4 for the week

*MAMA 2 "Molly's Night Out" October 31, 1987: now in the 8pm Saturday lead-off position -- in place of "Facts of Life" -- it trounced the other networks and even edged the show that followed ("227"). But with a 13.4, it was much lower than the 9pm "Golden Girls" rating of 18.9

*BUNTZ #1 "Pilot" November 5, 1987: borrowing the 9:30p Thursday slot from "Night Court," it posted similar numbers (20.4 rating), which was still a big drop from "Cheers" and its 26.0. Probably a curse to have so many eyeballs seeing what was a very weak pilot. Blink-and-you'll-miss-him, but Charles Levin is in the background when Buntz meets with Joe Pantoliano's character. Levin played Mick Belker's snitch, Eddie Gregg, and Pantoliano played Sonny Orsini (also a snitch) on HSB. 

*MAMA 3 "Pilot" November 26, 1987: following a new "Cheers" episode (19.5 rating) on Thanksgiving night was great, but the show dropped off to a 15.9 -- still better than the movies on CBS ("Norman Rockwell's Breaking Home Ties," 9.7) and ABC ("Gandhi," 7.6).

*BUNTZ #2 "Fit to Be Tied" November 29, 1987: on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the show ranked third in its time slot opposite the film “The Long Journey Home” on CBS and a glitzy Vegas special on ABC.

*BRONX 9 It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City December 9, 1987: the show returns after nine months, getting killed by The Grammys on CBS.

*BUNTZ #3 "Sid and Randy" December 24, 1987: on Christmas Eve, NBC programmed reruns of its powerhouse Thursday lineup -- except "Buntz." Still, it's 10.0 rating bettered the ancient movies on the other networks. ABC ran 1981's "The Legend of the Lone Ranger" (8.4), while CBS countered with the 1971 pilot for "The Waltons" titled "The Homecoming" (7.4).

*BRONX 10 "The Long Grey Line" January 20, 1988: A 9.2 rating on a Wednesday night -- up against stiff competition, and new episodes, of lots of established hits. ABC's "Dynasty" finished first in the 10p time slot (16.3) followed by CBS' "The Equalizer" (13.9).  

*BUNTZ #4 "Duck! L'Orange!" January 27, 1988: a week after trying out "Bronx" on a Wednesday, "Buntz" did slightly better at 9:30p, but still finished behind new episodes on CBS ("Magnum," 14.2) and ABC ("Slap Maxwell," 11). It also dropped from a "Cheers" rerun at 9p (13.7).

*BRONX 11 "Truancy Blues" March 24, 1988: another chance on NBC's powerhouse Thursday lineup, but the 9:30p show ("The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd") posted a big drop from an all-new Cosby/Different World/Cheers: 25.1 down to a 17.2. And then "Bronx" got a 13.5 to beat ABC's "Buck James" (10.5) but came in second to an all-new "Knots Landing" (no number available, but the show got a 15.8 on the season).

*BUNTZ #5 "Umbrella in the Water" March 25, 1988: so much for rotating, as "Buntz" airs a night -- instead of a week -- after its most recent DH sibling. No CBS info, but they were likely airing "Dallas" (16.8 for the season), which had been on Fridays forever, or a movie. On ABC, "Family Man" posted an 11.8 against "Buntz" at 10.3. But the worse news is that "Buntz" was between two shows which did much better: new "Night Court" (12.4) and a rerun "Miami Vice" (12.6). People were actively turning their sets off for a half hour! 

*BRONX 12 Behind Closed Doors March 30, 1988: now on Wednesday, a 10.8 against ABC's new Kate Mulgrew drama, "HeartBeat," and CBS' "The Equalizer," which both managed a 14.0 rating.

*BUNTZ #6 "Brief Encounter" April 1, 1988: while it beat ABC's "Family Man" (11.5 to 9.6), the rating for "Buntz" again showed a big drop-off between "Night Court" (13.1) and "Miami Vice" (14.3). And all of them were trounced by "Dallas" (16.2). The numbers seem generally up, perhaps since it was Good Friday.

*BRONX 13 Career Day April 6, 1988: another loss to the same competition: "The Equalizer" hit 14.1, "HeartBeat" at 12.3 and "Bronx" down to 9.4.  

*BUNTZ #7 "El Norte by Norte West" April 8, 1988: same story as the previous two Fridays. "Dallas" wins the slot (16.2), "Night Court" and "Miami Vice" have higher numbers (10.7 each) than "Buntz" (9), which tied "Family Man."

*MAMA 4 "Mickey's Song" April 9, 1988: Mickey is back after six months! The fan club rejoices! As with episode two, the show won its timeslot leading NBC's Saturday night lineup. But the rating (11.4) was still soft compared to "Golden Girls" (19.1). This was also the lowest-rated "Mama's Boy" episode yet. 

*BRONX 14 Ties That Bind April 13, 1988: it's a familiar pattern with "The Equalizer" (13.5) and "HeartBeat" (12.3) beating "Bronx" (9.5).

*BUNTZ #8 "Buntz of the Desert" April 15, 1988: same story as the previous THREE Fridays. "Dallas" wins the slot (16.8), "Night Court" and "Miami Vice" have higher numbers (10.4 and 14.4, respectively) than "Buntz" (9.8) edges "Family Man" (9.5).

BRONX 15 The Gospel Truth April 20, 1988: a move up to 9pm didn't help the show. a "Hooperman" (12.2) rerun and a new "Just In Time" (10.7) on ABC came in about par with a rerun "Jake and the Fatman" (11.1) on CBS. But "Bronx" only notched a 9.4 in its new slot. After more than two months, "St. Elsewhere" returned to its 10pm slot and promptly got a 10.2 rating.

*BUNTZ #9 "Carl" April 22, 1988: the best of the three DH's was the first to be benched. The final episode to actually air was clearly held over, since it's a Christmas episode?! Clearly meant to air sooner. Came in third (8 rating) behind ABC's "Family Man" (9.2) and CBS' movie "Shakedown on the Sunset Strip (15). The remaining five episodes are linked below. With a looming writer's strike, one would think these unaired shows could have made great new programming, but they were never run on NBC. 

*BRONX 16 If All the World's a Stage, Where's My Dressing Room? June 1, 1988: with May sweeps over and the season safely in the books, "Bronx" was burned off in June. "The Equalizer" (12.4) and ABC's then-new midseason "China Beach" (10.5) both did better numbers than "Bronx" (8.3).

*BRONX 17 When I Paint My Masterpiece June 8, 1988: a double-length rerun of "The Equalizer" (12.3) got a head start on the last new "China Beach" until fall (11.1) pushing "Bronx" to a lowly 7.8.

*BRONX 18 Crossroads June 15, 1988: a rerun of "The Equalizer" (12.6) held steady while ABC offered a new Billy Joel special from the USSR (9.4), finishing just ahead of "Bronx" (9.0).

*BRONX 19 On the Land, on the Sea and in the Halls June 22, 1988: on ABC, "Spenser: For Hire" had been canceled, but that didn't stop fans from watching summer reruns and giving this rerun a 10.2, with "The Equalizer" again winning the time slot (11.6). "Bronx" only managed a 7.3.

*BRONX 20 A Day in the Life June 29, 1988: the nexus of our experiment! At 9pm, "Mama's Boy" returned after more than two months to notch a low of 7.0 against "Hooperman" (11.2) and "The Equalizer" (10.7). After "Mama," a few more viewers tuned in for "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd" (7.5) and then "Bronx" got up to an 8.1.

*MAMA 5 "Remembrance of Things Past" June 29, 1988: see above.

*MAMA 6 "Hamlet" August 6, 1988: another long hiatus, but "Mama" got its best rating since episode three, with a 13.3. Why? Another lead-in from "Golden Girls (16.2). The lead-out of "Hunter," though, got a 14.4. So people were once again (in theory) purposely tuning out! In the doldrums of summer, I guess people would watch anything: Fox's "Saturday Night at the Late Show" only managed a 2.1, while a rerun of Pat Morita's canceled "Ohara" got a 6.3. No info for CBS is available.

 

UNAIRED:

MAMA 7 "Scared Straight"

BUNTZ #10 "Ad Astra Per Peoria"

BUNTZ #11 "A Falcone in the Hand"

BUNTZ #12 "Cannon-Aid"

BUNTZ #13 "Terry and the Pirates"

BRONX 21 Unnatural Selection

ABC's "American Dream" (1981)

Here comes AMERICAN DREAM! For years, I had only read about this show, thanks to a chapter on its rocky development process in the 1983 Todd Gitlin book "Inside Prime Time." It was set in Chicago, starred Stephen Macht (a great 70s/80s character actor) and Hans Conried (supporting) and was developed by the team who went on to create "Cagney & Lacey" (Barbara Corday and Barney Rosenzweig)... but if memory serves, ABC was uncomfortable with their "realistic" work on the 90-minute pilot, and dumped them for William Blinn when series production began.

There were seven episodes made after the pilot (which was nominated for two Emmys). Three of those episodes never aired. So here's what the show was up against on the other networks. Wikipedia says that ABC was planning to give "American Dream" a regular slot for the 1981-82 season, but that never happened. The first regular episode aired the night after the pilot, then episode two over a week later. Then there was a month gap (May sweeps) and two episodes were burned off in the summer against weak competition. You'd think, with a writer's strike at the time, they would WANT new programming at that time?!

1-Pilot (April 26, 1981): aired on a Sunday at 9:30pm against reruns of "The Jeffersons Go to Hawaii" (part 2) and "Trapper John, M.D." on CBS, and 1976's "The Cassandra Crossing" on NBC. Here's a pretty lame promo for this film.

2-Crossing Patterns (April 27, 1981): up against reruns of "MASH" and "House Calls" on CBS, but also the NBC special "Live From Studio 8H: 100 Years of America's Popular Music"... this was likely due to the writer's strike, too, while 8H was sitting unused due to the early termination of SNL's horrific sixth season.

3-Casey's Romance (May 6, 1981): now on Wednesdays, CBS aired 1981's "The Gentleman Bandit" at 9pm against this episode, while NBC had a new "Diff'rent Strokes" and a rerun "Facts of Life." This is the only episode I've seen, and it's online here. A promo is here and it's billed as the "premiere." So the previous week's Sunday/Monday I guess was considered a "launch" or "preview"? The same strategy was tried earlier in this year with "Hill Street Blues," which also had horrible ratings (but on a much lower-rated network). Not smart.

For the weeks of May 13 and 20, the 9pm Wednesday slot on ABC was filled with movies: "California Suite" and then "She's In the Army Now." An episode of "American Dream" may have aired on May 27, but records from that era aren't available at the moment... and that seems unlikely during a sweeps period.

4-The Robbery (June 3, 1981): a month after the previous installment, "American Dream" aired against NBC's reruns of Strokes/Facts, while CBS aired the 1979 film "Willa"

5-Winners (June 10, 1981): NBC still had reruns of its two shows while CBS aired the 1974 film "Uptown Saturday Night." Oddly, when I Googled "American Dream ABC 1981," one of the first photos that came up was a still of Big Percy from "Uptown Saturday Night."

UNAIRED:

6-A Blessing from Berlowitz

7-The Bottom Line

8-California Dreaming

Buying Elvis on vinyl or CD?

When people ask what Elvis albums to buy, I ask first if they want vinyl or CD?  Because those are two very different answers...

For vinyl, I recommend the 5-LP "Elvis Presley Story" box (Candelite Music) and then the following: Elvis Presley (1956), Elvis (1956), Elvis comeback special soundtrack (1968), From Elvis in Memphis (1969), From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis (1969), On Stage (1970), Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old) (1971), The Sun Sessions (1976). Note that Elvis' first couple albums can be expensive or hard-to-find, so shop carefully. And buy mono only; not stereo.

On CD, it's much simpler to get the four boxed sets from the early 90s:

The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters (also on vinyl, but very pricy)

From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential '60s (also on vinyl, but very pricy)

Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters

Command Performances: Essential 60s Masters II

That's a much better deal than trying to collect all his original vinyl albums... and the later ones are easy to find and cheap (because they stink). Below is a list of just what was released while Elvis was alive. I left out the "Elvis' Golden Records" and "A Legendary Performer" compilations (which are actually both quite good). I also tried, and probably failed, to leave out albums that just had one or two new tracks.  So it's A LOT -- and a lot of repetition.

Elvis Presley (1956)

Elvis (1956)

Loving You (1957)

Elvis' Christmas Album (1957)

King Creole (1958)

For LP Fans Only (1959)

A Date with Elvis (1959)

Elvis Is Back! (1960)

G.I. Blues (1960)

His Hand in Mine (1960)

Blue Hawaii (1961)

Something for Everybody (1961)

Pot Luck (1962)

Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962)

It Happened at the World's Fair (1963)

Fun in Acapulco (1963)

Kissin' Cousins (1964)

Roustabout (1964)

Girl Happy (1965)

Elvis for Everyone! (1965)

Harum Scarum (1965)

Frankie and Johnny (1966)

Paradise, Hawaiian Style (1966)

Spinout (1966)

Double Trouble (1967)

Clambake (1967)

How Great Thou Art (1967)

Speedway (1968)

Elvis Sings Flaming Star (1968)

Elvis (comeback special soundtrack) (1968)

From Elvis in Memphis (1969)

From Memphis to Vegas / From Vegas to Memphis (1969)

Let's Be Friends (1970)

On Stage (1970)

Almost In Love (1970)

That's the Way It Is (1970)

C'Mon Everybody (1971)

Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old) (1971)

I Got Lucky (1971)

Love Letters from Elvis (1971)

Elvis sings The Wonderful World of Christmas (1971)

At Madison Square Garden (1972)

Separate Ways (1972)

Burning Love and Hits from His Movies, Volume 2 (1972)

Elvis Now (1972)

He Touched Me (1972)

Aloha From Hawaii (1973)

Elvis ("The Fool") (1973)

Raised on Rock / For Ol' Times Sake (1973)

Good Times (1974)

Live On Stage In Memphis (1974)

Having Fun with Elvis On Stage (1974)

Promised Land (1975)

Today (1975)

From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (1976)

The Sun Sessions (1976)

Moody Blue (1977)

Richie Brockelman, Private Eye

"The Rockford Files" abruptly ended in 1980 (due to James Garner's health issues), with several unproduced scripts waiting in the wings.  Its Friday night time slot was taken over by "Pink Lady and Jeff" (not quite the real title, but I don't care). One wishes that NBC would have instead dusted-off a replacement from a couple years before: "Richie Brockelman, Private Eye."  Aside from a different lead actor and some heavier music cues,
"Brockelman" looked and felt just like "The Rockford Files."

It started as a TV movie near the beginning of the 1976-77 season, written by Rockford’s Stephen J. Cannell with Stephen Bochco, later of Hill Street Blues. (His HSB co creator, Michael Kozoll, wrote one episode of Brockelman, too).

The character popped up again the following season, in a 2-hour Rockford at the end of the 1977-78 season. A few weeks later, Richie's own show took over Rockford’s time slot (up against "The Incredible Hulk"… hence the soft ratings).

We last saw Richie at the end of the 1978-79 season in another 2-hour Rockford.

The two crossovers with "Rockford" are on that show's DVD sets.  But the "Richie" pilot and five episodes haven't been officially released. You can find a few of them on YouTube, however:

*pilot-The Missing 24 Hours (Oct 27, 1976) —2 hours

*Rockford: The House on Willis Avenue (February 28, 1978) —2 hours

*1-The Framing of Perfect Sydney (March 17, 1978)

*2-Junk it to Me Baby (March 24, 1978)

*3-A Title on the Door and a Carpet on the Floor (March 31, 1978)

*4-A Pigeon Ripe For Plucking (April 7, 1978)

*5-Escape From Caine Abel (April 14, 1978)

*Rockford: Never Send a Boy King to Do a Man's Job (March 3, 1979)—2 hours

And here's a cute intro that Dugan made with James Garner.

Other connections: Rockford directors Hy Averback, Ivan Dixon, and Arnold Laven all directed RB episodes. Laven also helmed three HSB episodes.

Cannell and Bochco wrote not only the RB pilot, but one other episode.

Over the course of all these productions, Richie’s dad kept changing, played by three familiar faces: Norman Fell (pilot), John Randolph (the RB series), and Harold Gould (the second Rockford episode).

Richie’s Secretary was played by Barbara Bosson, who was Bochco’s wife. She later showed up on HSB as Fay Furillo.

Robert Hogan filled a Dennis Becker-type role on RB… and he also guested on both Rockford and HSB.

Sharon Gless, David Spielberg, and Rene Auberjonois all guested on both RB and Rockford. I’m sure there’s others I’ll notice as watch everything.

And of course, Dennis Dugan himself had a memorable story arc as Captain Freedom during season two of HSB.

The Beatles on reel tape: America v. England v. JAPAN

I wrote a bit about Beatles reel-to-reel tapes in this post on Columbia House reels. There's a wealth of information on their American reels (1964-71) here. British reels (1963-70) are here and there's a great video from Parlogram here.

Looking at the American Capitol LPs versus the British EMI issues, the latter usually gets the edge for sound quality -- on vinyl. On reel, the situation is reversed as 16 of the 17 Capitol LPs were issued at 7.5 IPS, instead of the more common (for non-classical) speed of 3.75. (For some reason, Capitol's "Something New" never made it to 7.5 IPS).

Anyhow, if one wants to amass the best-sounding, most complete Beatles reel catalog, you'd need to buy the American 7.5 IPS reels (plus the aforementioned "Something New").  That would still leave 12 orphaned songs... some of which are still on non-Capitol reels:

*Love Me Do (original single version)

*Misery [on the British "Please Please Me" reel]

*There's a Place [on the British "Please Please Me" reel]

*From Me To You [on the British "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" reel... or see below] 

*Sie Liebt Dich (She Loves You, in German)

*A Hard Day's Night [on the British "A Hard Day's Night" or "A Collection of Beatles Oldies" reels, or the American AHDN reel from United Artists reel -- at 7.5 IPS... or see below]

*I'm Down

*The Inner Light

*Get Back (original single version) [see below]

*Across the Universe (original version)

*Let It Be (original single version) [see below]

*You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)

Incidentally, buying just the British reels not only gives you inferior sound, but you miss out on the 11 songs from "Magical Mystery Tour" (not a UK album at the time, so not issued on reel), and 25 of the 33 songs on "Past Masters."

Regardless of which route you choose, one way to fill in the gaps -- in amazing sound quality -- is to track down the red (1962-66) and blue (1967-70) albums, released on reel in Japan-only well after the heyday of reels in other countries.  (There are a some uniquely packaged reels in Canada and Australia, but nothing special; and the rest of the world got nothing).

These pop up for sale occasionally and usually sell in the low four figures... or about five times what other Beatle reels go for.