Thursday, February 14, 2013

Classics

Monday was a lousy day.  I fell on the ice and hurt my wrist.  It's nothing major, just a little sore.  There were tons of TV technical problems, some caused by and worsened by the ice and rain.  I was very happy when my shift ended and I went home.

As I sat down to a bowl of chicken with broccoli at lunch, I did some channel surfing and settled on the $ 25,000 Pyramid.

I've written about my pyramid love in the past.  It's the perfect game show.  You can play at home.  Dick Clark was awesome, and even after all these years, I still yell at the television when the celebrities give lousy clues.

The set, the lights, the music, the sounds, the host...  it all worked together.

There have been a few revivals over the years.  Some were good.  None came close to the original.

I finally got a chance to see and hear the Dodge Super Bowl "God made a farmer" commercial, featuring the voice of Paul Harvey.  I heard good things about it, and it blew me away.

Paul Harvey was the greatest.  He produced compelling, engaging radio, even if you didn't agree with his viewpoints.  Paul Harvey was the last of the great radio commentators.  If you read his scripts, they were really nothing special.  Couple the crisp, clean writing with a marvelous delivery and you have a master behind the microphone.

I can't think of anyone currently working who has that kind of presence.

The work of Dick Clark and Paul Harvey, while vastly different, both stand the test of time.