From: vuyk@let.rug.nl (W. Vuijk)
Subject: TV talk
Organization: Faculteit der Letteren, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, NL
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 16:23:19 GMT

TV talk

Busy times for the Dylan spotters on TV. Some more or less
Dylan related broadcasts form recent weeks:

Dutch commercial station RTL4 regularly shows us "The Botleg
Series" box as it is a part of a prize (it goes with a CD
player) in the daily television game 'Wheel of Fortune'.

On the same channel some time in late november the sponsor of
the wether forecast started announcing their "program" with a
few lines of a weather related song. The first one they used
was the refrain of "Blowin' in the wind" sung by Dylan over
the image of a traffic sign in a heavy storm.

On november 17 Germany's first channel ARD had the 1976 movie
"Bound for Glory" based on an episode of Woody Guthrie's life.
Besides the obvious Guthrie-Dylan connection this contains
versions of the songs "Coming round the mountain" and "I'm in
the mood for love", songs that also appeared on the recently
surfaced new batch of Basement Tapes.

December 16 RTL4 again showed the 1988 television-movie "The
Incrowd". The main character, a rock 'n' roll dancer in a TV
show in 1965, is fed up with his intellectual girlfriend. At
the very end of the movie she wants to play him her new re-
cord, telling him not to be afraid that it is yet another
ballroom orchestra but it is rock this time. She puts on "Like
a rolling stone" and the screen is filled with the Highway 61
album cover.

December 18 Dutch Channel 1 showed an episode of the English
crime series The Chief. Some of the characters had regular
meetings in a bar where a live band appeared. At one of the
scenes in the pub the (unknown) band played a *live* version
of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". Not very well unfortunately.

December 26 Britain's BBC 2 showed a special about Linda
McCartney's career as a photographer, which briefly showed her
picture of Bob picking his ear.

December 27 Dutch RTL4's episode of the USA comedy Home Impro-
vement was called "Forever Jung". I think English speaking
people pronounce Dr Jung's name similar to "Young". I (HB)
watched it but didn't get the intention.

December 28 BBC showed their comedy "One ofot in the grave".
This weeks episode was called "The man in the long black
coat". Do they just want to use those titles or what? Anyway,
again I (HB) didn't get the point.

On the same day BBC 2 showed "Northern songs", a selection
from Granada TV's archives. This showed a station or a side-
walk in London and mentioned that amongst others Bob Dylan had
trot that very pavement. Unfortunately the famous archives
apparently had no actual footage of this 'event'.

December 29 it was Dutch TV again. Channel 3 showing the 1933
movie "She done him wrong" starring Mae West and Cary Grant.
Mae is singing a couple of verses from "Frankie & Johnnie" (as
well as some other songs). The music that starts and ends this
movie is an instrumental version of the same song. By the way:
for Mae West "She done him wrong" followed her small role in
"Night after Night", which also happens to be the title of the
song Dylan wrote and sang for "Hearts of Fire".

Januari 2, 1993, the Dutch news featured a report on Dutch UN
soldiers in Bosnia, which included a short segment of one of
the soldiers playing "Blowin' in the wind" on the piano.

Januari 6, RTL4 showed yet another weather forecast intro of
Bob singing Blowin' in the wind, this time showing some women
trying to keep their dresses down in a heavy wind. I wonder if
they will eventually use Hard Rain, Shelter from the Storm,
and the countless others. I don't think they have the nerve or
understanding to start with "You don't need a weatherman to
know which way the wind blows"....

Hans Bosch/Wim Vuijk
Vuyk@let.rug.nl