INTRODUCTION: What is this... "Cobweb TV"?

The first "Cobweb TV"? Felix the Cat,  as seen on an experimental
television broadcast from the 1930s. (Google images)

Hello, and welcome to the world of Cobweb TV.

I define Cobweb TV as the hits (two TV seasons or more in duration), flops, specials, unsold pilots, TV movies, and miniseries from the sixty-plus years of television broadcasting that have become increasingly forgotten by everyone but the most ardent of TV junkies and historians.

Part of an unidentified film
vault. (Google images)

Not all of Cobweb TV is readily available for viewing. Some of it is completely gone, surviving only through a compendium of people's memories, photos, scripts, and even fragments of footage. The majority of it sits in the vaults of major film and TV studios or private archives, mainly due to a lack of interest, if not because of legal issues. Fortunately, there's a significant amount of programming that has been preserved by collectors of rare TV shows (through home recordings and bootleg sources) or given a legitimate home video release; this is the Cobweb TV, currently accessible to most diehard TV fans.

Cobweb TV used to lurk here.
(Google images)

While more than a few programs falling under this categorization have been dissected and analyzed elsewhere, not all these obscurities have been given their fair share of coverage. Hopefully, readers will occasionally discover a series they never heard of, along with new perspectives on the shows they're familiar with. While I may not be able to see it all, I'm going to give it a try and tell you all about what I see in the months ahead.

This writer will avoid one word when discussing these TV "footnotes": classic. The adjective is too easily attached to any item treasured by pop culture bloggers, and I've been guilty of using it in the past. While it will be conceded that several programs from TV's past are held in higher esteem than others (not necessarily award-winning or having cult status), even these critical darlings or rating champs have their detractors. (Not everyone loves I Love Lucy.) Overall, an opinion is still an opinion, whether it's stated by one person or a convention hall full of critics. I will give each of these shows a fair shake and "call 'em as I see 'em," falling short of saying you-know-what in the process.

"Have you seen me lately?"
(Google images)

Along the way, I'll inevitably deviate from writing specifically about Cobweb TV, but expect these topics to be TV-related, ranging from head-spinning diatribes about today's TV Land (Phooey!) to what current TV series will become the Cobweb TV of the future. As I'm not affiliated with any political party, there will be no preaching from atop a soapbox.

In closing, it took a long time to post this first entry because I was hit with a case of writer's block, compounded by numerous personal issues. (It all boils down to my being a shy guy who also has to deal with social anxiety. I'm feeling better about myself these days.) Writing all of this is definitely a breakthrough for me; it may not be the best example of my writing abilities, but it is me. Hopefully, the intervals between postings won't be long ones.

NEXT TIME ON... COBWEB TV!

(Movie Poster Shop)

Keeping it trivial...

R.A.M.'67