Category Archives: News

Correction: Ron Glass Passed Away in 2016

In the latest episode of TUBE TUNES (S02E07: Please ‘B’ Mine), I stated that actor Ron Glass, who played Det. Ron Harris in the TV series BARNEY MILLER and Shepherd Book in the series FIREFLY (and in its movie sequel “Serenity”), was still with us. Unfortunately, I somehow missed the fact that Mr. Glass actually passed away on November 25, 2016 at age 71. Mr. Glass was always a favorite of mine, and I sincerely apologize for the oversight in my research for this particular episode. And many thanks go to Ferg of the Atari 2600 Game By Game podcast for alerting me to Mr. Harris’s passing.

Mark

S02E05: The A’s Have It Will Be Arriving on March 19

This just in: In anticipation of those who will feel the effects of Stella, the nor’easter that’s barrelling towards the East Coast, the next episode of TUBE TUNES will be up on the feeds by this Sunday, March 19!

Ummm…yeah, the weather really doesn’t have anything to do with the podcast. Just tryin’ to stay topical.

 

-Mark

Not an Apple Person? That’s Okay…There’s Google Play Music Just For You!

Don’t have an Apple iPhone, iPod or MacBook on which to listen to TUBE TUNES through iTunes? Not a problem. Simply visit Google Play Music by clicking here to listen to any episode of TUBE TUNES on your Android or other non-Apple device.

S02E02: Cable Hits (Part 1) – HBO Coming December 9!

I have the research completed and the theme music compiled for Season 2 Episode 2 of TUBE TUNES, entitled Cable Hits (Part 1) – HBO. I’m going out of town this weekend so I won’t be able to work on the episode much until next week. At that point, I will only have to record the episode, post-edit it, assemble the segments, and then post it on the feeds, hopefully by next Friday (December 9).

The episode will cover the themes for every scripted series on HBO that ran for at least four seasons from 1983 up to the present. That’s 22 series (more than I had expected), so the segment for each show will be relatively short to help me keep the episode length at around an hour; I really didn’t want to break it up into two different TUBE TUNES episodes. In any case, I think you’ll really enjoy this particular episode as it will be packed with lots of theme music.

Also, this episode will likely be the last one in which I cover so many series at once. Most TUBE TUNES episodes after this one will rarely cover more than five series at a time. This method will allow me to devote more time to each individual series and its theme music without making marathon-length episodes that take forever to research, record and edit.

Stay “tuned” right here for more updates…and have a great weekend, everyone!

-Mark

S02E01 Bug Fix Update #2

Almost there. Took an hour to get the kinks out of the original file on Audacity (and there were a LOT of kinks)…Audacity can be buggy on a Mac. Anyhow, I’m currently recompiling the file into mp3 and it should be uploaded to the feeds in a matter of minutes.

-Mark

S02E01 Bug Fix Update #1

I’ve determined (in my limited capacity here at work) that the part of the episode that was affected by the “echo” in Season 2 Episode 1 runs for about 12 minutes, from roughly the 2:00 minute mark to the 14:15 minute mark. I will listen to the rest of the episode on my way home from work to check for any other anomalies. If all I have to fix are those 12 minutes, it shouldn’t take me long to get the episode repaired and back up onto the feeds.

In the meantime, I have removed the corrupted file from the web-host, so if you try to listen to it, even if you still see it on the feeds, it will yield an error message. I’ve also removed the post for this episode from my website (www.tubetunes.net), where my iTunes feed is housed; I’ll be posting a new post on my website after I’ve completed the repairs. I know this is all a bit technical (heck, I don’t even understand most of it myself), so please forgive me.

I will end with saying that if you already downloaded the corrupt episode, either last night or early this morning, then you may need to refresh your iTunes (or Stitcher or TuneIn or Google Play or whatever you’re using to listen to the podcast) after I get the updated episode up on the feeds. I will be renaming the actual mp3 file (once I get it fixed) with a different name from the bad file to avoid any confusion on the feeds. Hopefully I’ll have all the repairs done and uploaded for everyone within the next 2 or 3 hours.

Stay “tuned” for further updates.

-Mark

Corrupted File in S02E01 of TUBE TUNES

ATTENTION:

The mp3 file for this episode of the podcast was somehow corrupted before I uploaded it to the feeds last night.

This morning, I discovered that the stereo underscore and theme music track on the file was somehow duplicated and offset, resulting in a pronounced echo. I will try to fix it when I get home from work late today, but if the entire track has to be remixed, it may take a while. I will keep all of you posted on my progress in getting this issue fixed. Thanks.

-Mark

Season 2 is Coming Very Soon!

Well, my intrepid listeners, summer is gone. Which means it’s time for “TUBE TUNES: The Television Theme Music Podcast” to crank back up. It’s been a long summer, I know. I really needed the time off to get personal things done, most of which are now complete. So…

The long-awaited “Go West, Old Man: Adult Westerns of the 1950s (Part 2)” is almost ready, and I hope to have it up by November 4. After that, there should be a new episode coming out every two weeks or so; you can check out the calendar of upcoming episodes here. After 20 planned episodes for this season, I plan to take another summer hiatus in 2017 (just like the network TV shows do), although I may sprinkle in a few short episodes during the summer that may cover only one TV theme each; I’m calling those episodes TURBO TUNES.

You’ll find that this season’s episodes will probably be a bit shorter in length than last season’s. Additionally, I hope to interject more personal memories about the shows and themes that I’m covering in order to keep them from getting a bit dry. Finally, I hope to ween myself of a written script. And don’t be surprised if you hear a few more “ummm”‘s and “uhhh”‘s, ’cause I’ll be cutting back on the post-editing, too, something that severely slowed down my ability to get last season’s episodes out on time.

That’s it, folks. I always welcome comments and corrections, so please don’t be shy. And thanks for your patience. On to Season 2!

-Mark

Check Out Forgotten Filmcast

 

Until the next episode of TUBE TUNES (“S01E07: Cathode Ray Memories”) appears on the feeds in the next few days, check out a great podcast that I have been enjoying for some time now: Forgotten Filmcast, hosted by Todd Liebenow. The latest episode, #68, covers the 1967 film “Gunn,” starring Craig Stevens in the role he created for the 1958-1961 TV series PETER GUNN. Most people probably remember the famous Henry Mancini theme music from the show rather than the show itself, but the movie is pretty good, too…and it’s in color. In Forgotten Filmcast, Mr. Liebenow and his guest co-host (yours truly) discuss the film, its quirks, its fun bits, and its surprising ending. Please be sure to give this wonderful podcast some love and check it out!

Only One Week Until “S01E06: Prime Time ‘Toons”

Oliver Wendell Douglas (groggily): “Hello? Who is this?”

Hank Kimball: “Howdy, Mr. Douglas!”

Oliver Wendell Douglas: “Mr. Kimball? What on earth are you calling me for? It’s 6 a.m.!”

Hank Kimball: “I just wanted to tell you the great news. Well, it isn’t exactly GREAT news…it’s actually pretty good news. Well, I don’t know if you’d call it news…it’s actually…         …oh, boy.”

Oliver Wendell Douglas: “Mr. Kimball, I hope you know that you’ve gotten me out of bed and -”

Hank Kimball: “I just knew you’d want to know.”

Oliver Wendell Douglas:”Want to know WHAT?!”

Hank Kimball: “About the TUBE TUNES podcast.”

Oliver Wendell Douglas: “What about it?”

Hank Kimball: “What about what?”

Oliver Wendell Douglas (angrily): “The TUBE TUNES podcast!”

Hank Kimball: “Oh, yeah. I just called to say that Season 1, Episode 6, which is all about animated series that aired during prime time, will be out in one week!”

Oliver Wendell Douglas: “What?! You got me outta bed to – ”

Hank Kimball: “I knew you’d want to know about the podcast, Mr. Douglas.”

Oliver Wendell Douglas: “Oh, that stupid podcast!”

Hank Kimball: “No, this is the TUBE TUNES podcast. The STUPID Podcast doesn’t come out until next month.”

Oliver Wendell Douglas: “Yes, and you’re going to be the featured guest!!!”

Hank Kimball (excitedly): “I am? Gosh, that makes three months in a row!”

“What’s that, Chief? Season 1, Episode 5 of TUBE TUNES isn’t out, yet?”

Chief: “That’s right, Max. You haven’t posted ‘Episode 5: Who Loves Ya, Baby? Detectives of the 1970s (Part 1)’ of TUBE TUNES on January 18 like you had hoped. You need to be on top of that, Max.”

Max: “Right, Chief. I plan to have it out to the feeds by Monday, January 25, though, so don’t despair. And send thanks to everyone for their patience, Chief.”

Chief: “That’s fine, Max.”

Max: “Oh, one more thing.”

Chief: “Yes, Max?”

Max: “Sorry about that, Chief.”