You aren’t alone. This has quite a following. Is it the B Actors Roaring? The TV Movie Format? The Disaster tropes that are rare in MST? Except for Avalanche (1978), San Francisco International (1970) is alone in its non-fantastic adversity.
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Honestly, I’d love it if they would have done more failed movie-of-the-week pilots. There’s some great ones.
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Same. The skits illustrate the beginning, middle, and end of a cultural phenomenon. Disco, Ernest P. Worrell, Freddy Krueger, Andrew Dice Clay, Dennis Leary, The Macarena, Tubthumping, Austin Powers. It really connected with me on that score.
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Naturally Disaster Movies is the elephant in the room. Like Icy Hot in reverse, these entertainments were all the rage for nearly a decade then vanished only to be resurrected in the 90s. Some things don’t stay dead.
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My first pick:
Here are a few more:
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60s Entertainment in a nutshell. Social happenings harnessed to amuse and the time between then and now exposes what’s changed. The naivety of explaining away such behavior wouldn’t pass today. The relaxed resolution isn’t a norm in the world presently. Davey’s tale is a quaint artifact of a bygone era.
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Alas I do. And my friends. It was a BIG DEAL and you couldn’t escape it then. Whenever I turned on ABC, the ads would hit you.
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Ah, the failed tv pilot/series! Some really great episodes came from these; Riding with Death, Code Name Diamondhead. And some not so great ones; Stranded in Space. This one though is something special! It’s got a good cast, plenty of 70’s drama, and lots of airplanes! And to top it off, it’s the only episode from the year I was born (1970)! Like Diamondhead this really wasn’t a bad production. This did go to series even though Clu Gulager was the only cast member to return from the tv movie. I’ve always been a fan of Clu and Pernell Roberts. Both good actors from this era and this helps make this a very watchable episode.
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Also, Westerns.
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All I can say is, if you don’t know Family Matters, then you just don’t know What’s Happening!!
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Same here!
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For me, around the middle of Season 6 can do no wrong. This one lands in that sweet spot, and there’s several runs of riffs that are so perfect throughout.
“I wish this movie was in color”
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I always felt like this was an underrated episode. I didn’t actually get to see it until it was uploaded on that video sharing site almost 10 years ago. I’ve never seen a movie that was color timed this brown and orange before.
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Yeah, everything is brown. It’s just so brown.
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I remember them trying to make Urkel and the Dad into a buddy cop show. once FM died off.
The idea never made it to pilot. ‘Frankencop’ with Erik Estrada came closer.
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You think this is a great one? Well get a Clu, and it will be.
Oh, they did. So I guess it is then.
I’m so old I wondered why they didn’t talk about David Hartman trying to fly to the Island at the Top of the World.
Yeah, it was solid, though the kid flying scene dragged if it hadn’t been for the guys. Also didn’t know who Tab Hunter was. But I had a Clu, so I was cool with it.
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Is it wrong to say I would have watched that?
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This episode is so much fun! I always dig those Made-For-TV movies and this one has a nice “Mellow 70s” vibe. This one always delivers for me.
The whole Davey and the airplane sequence really is a masterclass in dark riffing! Some of their best work there! 
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And Clu Gulager is actually really good in this. That whole sequence where he deals with Mr. Diet Gum and The Made-For-TV-Hippie is legitimately awesome. (Along with great riffs along the way!)
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