Arlo and Janis by Jimmy Johnson for September 03, 2021

It’s called Useless Practical Knowledge. When it was my mother-in-law speaking my brother-in-law referred to it as Fiction and Fact from Grandma’s Almanac.

Even the pilot season of Star Trek had 30 episodes. Bean counters around the table get in the way.

In ye olden days, television series ran for 39 episodes a year, and there were “summer replacement” shows to fill out the other 13 weeks.

See: The Honeymooners (1955-56), also known as “The Classic 39”.

Me too, Arlo. My father called me “a mine of useless information”. I don’t think he realised I was following his lead.

Arlo, the trivial pursuit king!

Back then most shows had two sets and the actors weren’t paid multiple millions of dollars per season.

Vincent Price, on the set of Witchfinder General in 1968: “‘I’ve made seventy-four films, what have you done?’”

Michael Reeves, the director: “I’ve made three good ones.”

I like Mark Twain’s remark on this subject: (approximately) “Kipling and I are two remarkable people. Between us, we comprise all knowledge. He knows everything worth knowing, and I know everything else.”

Making one episode of a lot of shows today probably costs more than entire seasons back then.

I don’t have time or desire for TV and by the looks of it, I’m not missing much.

Me too, Arlo.

The first season of The Lone Ranger had 52 episodes.

Ha! Don’t we all, pal.

LOVE the Beverly Hillbillies first season!

Arlo always wins when playing the board game Trivial Pursuit

True, but episodes are longer, and the “sets” are far more complex. The cinematography has changed and improved. The sound quality, editing, and mixing is far more involved.

Go back and look at those first 36 episodes of the Beverley Hillbillies and count how many sets there were. Without looking, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say less than 10.

That’s me. Winner of many ‘Trivial Pursuit’ contests back in the day. I am a ‘Master of the Insignificant’.

Smarts that don’t make money. That’s me, I have a head for useless trivia. I even knew that Frank Bank played Clarence ‘Lumpy’ Rutherford in ‘Leave it to Beaver’ before there was IMDB..

What a wonderful descriptive phrase, “I have the kind of smarts that don’t make much money.” The author of that deserves a raise.

Bean counters now run scripted television shows?

I hear ya Arlo! But we were gods when Trivial Pursuit was THE Hot Board Game!

Arlo is me and I am Arlo…

It’s great for Trivial Pursuit.

My Wife is so impressed with my “Trivia Knowledge,” yet she is also amazed I forget those “Chore Knowledge.” Too bad they do not give out awards for “Andy of Mayberry” trivia.

Know the feeling. I got a lot of junk information in my brain too…..

me too

I love that Janis checks Arlo’s info with her phone.

It’s all about diminishing expectations.

One of my favourite shows had 3 or six shows per season depending on the broadcaster’s choice of splitting the episodes or not.

When I streamed the first two seasons of The Beverly Hillbillies I think it had about 55 episodes a season.

Arlo and I have a LOT in common it would seem…

They slammed those episodes out, which is why they’re so stiff and thin. Not much time for retakes, or thought, or prep, or post.

The slightly better question might be: “WHY do you know that?"

The BBC’s been doing six-thirteen episode “series” for ages. Those super-long seasons are kind of unique to America.

This comic has become boring.

Love it. Smart in the wrong things.

Arlo should play Buzztime trivia.

https://i.postimg.cc/FKFFPNFc/Calvin-1.jpg

K E Double L O Double Good Kelloggs best to you

Unfortunately, Arlo, many of us do.

Tv show “my little margie” averaged 42 episodes per season. Leaving 0weeks for vacations, personal appearances, and pre production screen writing