TVC 715.1: Ed welcomes back author, essayist, novelist, and TV historian Mitchell Hadley (The Electronic Mirror, ItsAboutTV.com). Mitchell's latest book, Darkness in Primetime: How Classic-Era TV Foresaw Modern Society's Descent into Hell, is a series of essays that shows how certain episodes of such classic series as The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Star Trek, and The Prisoner, as well as some of the live dramas that originally aired on Studio One, Playhouse 90, and Kraft Television Theatre—all of which were originally written and broadcast in either the 1950s or 1960s—not only envisioned a society of 24/7 surveillance, thought control, disinformation, persecution, and loss of freedom, but portrayed those realities in ways that are disturbingly similar to the world that we currently occupy. Darkness in Primetime is available wherever books are sold through Throckmorton Press and Amazon.com.

TVC 715.2: Mitchell Hadley, author of The Electronic Mirror and Darkness in Primetime, talks to Ed about how "The General," Episode 6 of The Prisoner (ITC, 1967-1968), the classic allegorical series created by Patrick McGoohan, discusses the dangers of rapidly accumulating a vast amount of knowledge—without any understanding of what that knowledge really means. Also in this segment: Mitchell discusses One, the dystopian novel by David Karp from 1953 that Karp subsequently adapted for television in 1955 as an episode of Kraft Television Theatre. Darkness in Primetime is available wherever books are sold through Throckmorton Press and Amazon.com.

TVC 715.3: Ed welcomes Arnie Holland, president and CEO of Lightyear Entertainment, and executive producer of Heaven, the acclaimed feature-length documentary from 1987 that also marked the directorial debut of Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton. Recently re-released and digitally remastered, Heaven is a free-wheeling, offbeat pastiche of original interviews by Keaton that, combined with clips from such films as Metropolis, Green Pastures, and Stairway to Heaven and songs like "Endless Love," all explore different ideas of what paradise may have to offer. Heaven is now playing in select theaters across the United States; click here to see if it's coming to a theater near you. Heaven is also available for streaming on demand through Wednesday, Dec. 31; click here for information on how to rent it.

TVC 715.4: Part 2 of a conversation that began last week with Les Lannom, the actor known around the world as Lester Hodges on Harry O (ABC, 1974-1976). Topics this segment include a few behind-the-scenes anecdotes about filming "Mister Five and Dime," Les' favorite episode of Harry O, including a funny story about an ad-lib in a scene near the end of the episode that originated with Les, but which David Janssen appropriated.

TVC 714.5: Actor and musician Les Lannom talks to Ed about learning how to play the bagpipes when he was age forty; why one needs strong stomach muscles and a strong neck to play the bagpipes; the upcoming audiobook project about explorers Lincoln Ellsworth and Raold Amundsen in which Les will provide the voices; and the events leading up to Les' guest appearance on Kung Fu in December 1972—a role led to Les being cast in the first pilot of Harry O in early 1973. Les not only wrote the foreword for The Harry O Viewing Companion by Steve Aldous and Gary Gillies, but contributed many behind-the-scenes anecdotes about production of the series. The Harry O Viewing Companion is available wherever books are sold through McFarland Books.

TVC 714.6: Actor and musician Les Lannom shares a few memories about working with Peter Falk in Columbo Goes to College (ABC, 1990), with James Garner in the miniseries Space (CBS, 1985), with Henry Fonda in the acclaimed made-for-TV movie Gideon's Trumpet (CBS, 1980), and with Dennis Weaver in the epic miniseries Centennial (NBC, 1978-1979).

Please enjoy this special preview of our upcoming conversation with Alison Arngrim (Little House on the Prairie, Confessions of a Prairie Bitch) with news on several events coming up over the next few weeks that will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the premiere of Little House on the Prairie (NBC, 1974-1983), including a special Live Before a Studio Audience edition of The Little House 50th Anniversary Podcast featuring Alison, Dean Butler, and Pamela Bob that premieres Saturday, Nov. 22 at 1pm ET 10am PT (click here for tickets and more information); the world virtual premiere of Little House Homecoming, the new documentary by Jonathan Parker that, to quote Alison, "really gets what Little House means to so many people around the world" (streaming Wednesday, Nov. 26 at LittleHouseHomecoming.com); and the huge three-day Little House cast reunion at Strathearn Historical Park in Simi Valley, CA beginning Friday, Dec. 12 thru Sunday, Dec. 14 (click here for tickets and more information). Our complete conversation with Alison Arngrim will air during the weekend of Dec. 5-8 on TV Confidential.

NOTE. If you purchase a ticket for the Little House live stream event on Saturday, Nov. 22, your link will remain available for thirty days after the event, so you can relive the prairie magic anytime over that thirty-day period.

TVC 714.1: TV Confidential remembers Ralph Senensky, longtime member of the Directors Guild of America and one of the most prolific directors in TV history (particularly when it comes to episodic television) with an encore presentation of a conversation that originally aired in February 2014. Ralph Senensky passed away on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 at the age of 102. Topics this segment include a look at Ralph's early career in television on such live dramas as Playhouse 90, as well as his work with casting directors Marion Dougherty and John Conwell on shows like Route 66 and Naked City.