As the end of our 50th anniversary celebration of Strange Paradise nears, here is another selection of vintage promotional material from the series’ archives.
Colin Fox promo photo
TV Guide (Detroit) – October 4, 1969
NOTE: The text item above referencing KGW-TV is from the August 23, 1969 edition of The Portland Oregonian. The text item referencing the Twin Cities’ Channel 5 comes from the September 12, 1969 edition of The Minneapolis Star.
The Conjure Doll – 9/12/19
It’s so commonly noted that Strange Paradise wasn’t widely embraced by audiences following its 1969 debut that it’s often forgotten that, despite its generally tepid ratings, the show did garner its share of praise. Variety gave the pilot episode a very complimentary write-up, as did a number of the critics who attended advance promotional screenings in the weeks leading up to the series’ premiere. But I particularly love the observations of newspaper columnist Don Morrison in his November 11, 1969 piece for The Minneapolis Star:
Mr. Morrison seems to have picked up on the same vibe that makes the series near and dear to my heart. Strange Paradise may not be great drama — or even make complete sense 100% of the time — but it is always fun. Each episode is a half hour of escapism that no one can take too seriously, and God bless Don Morrison for recognizing that.
The Conjure Doll — 11/11/17
All I can say is, who the heck was writing ad copy for St. Paul, Minnesota broadcaster KSTP back when they were among the first stations to carry Strange Paradise in 1969??? Check out this KSTP promotional piece from the September 15, 1969 issue of Broadcasting:
The “broad market” … in an ad about the station’s ability to attract the female demographic. Really??? Broadcasting was a high-profile, nationally distributed trade magazine. If this is the sort of promotion that marked the launch of Strange Paradise, it’s little wonder that the early ratings were disappointing. What would Raxl or the Conjure Woman have said?
The Conjure Doll – 8/30/16
MALJARDIN 