Comments on: The Vine: December 31, 2009

By: Beth in DC

Beth in DC — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:48:00 +0000

Zoobilee Zoo *WAS* creepy!

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 21:01:16 +0000

In an MTM episode on hulu, the left side of the screen is just part of a tree when they show the MIdwest Building (where Mary supposedly worked) exterior. It seemed like one of the later episodes, though. Maybe not the same version you're referring to. Do you have a video you can refer us to?

By: Diane in WA

Diane in WA — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:10:40 +0000

After I saw Gerogia's reply, I described the documentary to my partner, who immediately said "Doug Peacock!" They were roommates at a geology field camp in the early 60s, both went on to serve in Vietnam, and he had described to me having seen the documentary and finally figuring out who this guy was who looked so familiar when Doug's wife calls out his name.
I think if you research it a little further you will see that Doug Peacock may have been a model for Edward Abbey's character Hayduke.

By: tulip

tulip — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 17:54:30 +0000

I'm with Allison and Erica, I'm pretty positive it was Read All About It. I grew up here in the metro ATL area and I watched it too. :) I was a "mystery" kid and I loved those elements of the show and the newspaper was my childhood dream!

By: Liz in Minneapolis

Liz in Minneapolis — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:51:33 +0000

First thing to know about Minneapolis – the city loves tearing down buildings, and Nicollet Mall has undergone quite a lot of changes since I got here in 1987, so it's amazing that there's anything left of the Nicollet Mall of that title sequence.

I admit I'm cribbing from Wikipedia, since I don't have memory of or access to the show to see what exactly you're seeing, but the IDS Center across the street (the big blue glass building, not the stripy white one) was under construction when the title sequence was first filmed, so that may explain the scaffolding.

Also from Wikipedia, http://tinyurl.com/yekwxgn

This picture is from 2005 and shows some scaffolding on the right-hand side of a neighboring building, which might be some sort of antenna structure.

The plants – there are a lot of trees on Nicollet Mall and some rooftop gardens in the area as well.

Why don't I just walk the four blocks at lunch and look at it today? Well, I'm lazy and it's cold. Sorry. Maybe there's someone goofing off at work in the Midwest Building or the IDS Tower who isn't so lazy… :-)

By: Sabrina

Sabrina — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:49:31 +0000

Could the show with the computer have been Today's Special? I remember a computer on that show that was a fairly major character– if I recall correctly, you could do things like type in the word "cake" and it would give you a piece of cake. (Boy, did I want that computer.) But I don't think its name was READ.

By: Leigh in CO

Leigh in CO — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:42:09 +0000

I think that robot reader may have been a recurring Electric Company sketch. It definitely rings a bell, and Electric Company, Sesame Street, and Mr. Rogers were about all I was allowed to watch (in my revisionist memories of a television-deprived childhood which I'm sure are wildly inaccurate).

Happy New Year, Tomato Nationals!

By: Lauren T.

Lauren T. — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:38:00 +0000

The last question is mine. Erica, "Read All About It" sounds vaguely familiar, but I'm pretty certain about the R.E.A.D. part. Hmm! :)

By: Allison

Allison — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:15:13 +0000

I think the kids' show was called "Read All About It."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Read_All_About_It!

By: Georgia

Georgia — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 16:07:48 +0000

Chris,

It sounds like what you're looking for may have been an episode of the show Nature, called "Peacock's War." You can buy a copy of the documentary here: http://www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/pwar.html