Saturday, January 10, 2015

Classic TV (?): The Liars' Club (1969)

1969 might be a year that Rod Serling would like to forget.

The mastermind behind The Twilight Zone had branched out. He'd written the screenplay a year earlier for the original adaptation of "Planet of the Apes", and before the Zone-esque Night Gallery bowed on NBC, Serling tried his hand with a different kind of drama, developing The New People for ABC and producers Aaron Spelling & Danny Thomas (their last collaboration). People, some now say, was a precursor of a sort to the more recent Lost, but lasted just 1 season.

On the other hand, Serling also took a chance on being-----wait for it-----a game show host. I've wasted the opportunity to invoke any Zone-isms in the description, so let's just jump into it. Serling was tapped by producer Ralph Andrews (You Don't Say) to host The Liars' Club, in which a celebrity panel would describe various oddball items. Contestants had to discern who was telling the truth. Sort of like To Tell The Truth, but in reverse.

Unfortunately, Liars' Club lasted just the one season with Serling, who moved on to Night Gallery and narrating The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau soon after. Liars' Club, however, was reopened in 1976 for a 3 year run, with actor Larry Hovis (ex-Hogan's Heroes) not only as a regular panelist, but as a producer. We'll cover that period another time. I never saw any of the Serling episodes, but we'll put one up, sans closing credits, for your perusal.



If it were to be revived today, I'd say it'd be on Comedy Central, wouldn't ya think?

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