All That Glitters

I have looked for references to this show for several years but could not remember the title. I finally got and answer from Tvpipeline and am releived to know that I did not imagine this whole plot. Several of the actors were busy in commercials and this was the only show in which I found them. The show, brief as it was, was most interesting and far ahead of its time. I hope someone shows it again!

What a little wonder this show was!! If you got to see any of it, you are very lucky. So far as I know it has never been shown in any other format than its original one on network TV. I particularly remember Lois Nettleton (a great favorite of mine) and Gary Sandy. Gary as a sexually harassed secretary was funny and pitiful at the same time. I guess it maybe cut too close to home for the network, because it sank with no trace. But, gosh, it was funny.

Isn't it unfortunate that it has not had the same exposure as some of the other, far more familiar, Lear products? If someone is sitting on this little jewel, why don't you put it out there for people to see? I have a feeling it would be every bit as funny as it was almost 30 years ago. Maybe more so.

It is great to have finally found a site that includes some information on "All That Glitters". I was 19 years old and living in New Orleans when this unique show aired late at night after Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. I loved it and have always wondered if I imagined it as not one single person I knew had seen it except a few guys who lived upstairs in my apartment complex. Lear was certainly right on with this way ahead of its time show. It would be awesome if TV Land could get a hold of the few episodes and get them repeated. It is a must see for all. The whole premise was terrific but I can see that it might have stirred up the TV censors for its time but would still be relevant now. Let's hope it can make it back on the small screen even if just to acknowledge Norman Lear's brilliance.

The introduction went something like...; One mornin' the Lord, she woke up to say, "I feel like I want to be creative today. So by virtue of the power I vested in me, I'll make the heavens, earth, and the deep blue sea. Things that swim, fly, walk, lie, creep and crawl, and to gather together and name them all"...(then something about creating woman)...and from the rib of the Madame came Adam full grown... This is all I can recall. How I wish I could remember the rest, or better yet see it in repeats. I can still hear the tune.

Back in Oklahoma, I would watch this show after Mary Hartman, then go to summer school the next day and laugh about it with my mates. The one character I recall was Madame Abu Bahn, the oil sheikh. The company L.W. Carruthers headed was Globatron. In one episode Dan Kincaid (Gary Sandy) got a new B.M.W., and I vaguely remember the bit about the black man in bed with the white woman. How could I have forgotten Tim Thomerson, Andrea Martin, and Lois Nettleton?

Hilarious as the show was, we at school were very angry that it was suddenly chopped. Why? My mother hated both "Mary Hartman" and "All That Glitters," and unsuccessfully tried to stop me from watching it a few times. Maybe her ilk was the reason it was cancelled.

If everyone here writes to TV Land, they might revive it, that is if anyone there remembers. Like myself at 14, it was campy and ahead of it's time. Those were the days, Mr. Lear, you bloody genius.

I have always been a fan of Norman Lear, with his vision and unique sense of humor. "All That Glitters" was one of his best, and I really missed it when it vanished so abruptly. It's a shame that the networks are so quick to pull shows that are unconventional before they have a chance to prove themselves, despite rabid fan bases. (Examples (in alphabetical order): All's Fair, Early Edition, Earth 2, Family Law, Firefly, First Monday, Freaks and Geeks, Golden Years, L.A. Doctors, Ned and Stacey, Nightmare Cafe, Now and Again, Pretender, Prey, Push Nevada, Reasonable Doubts, Relativity, Space:Above & Beyond, Sportsnight, Strange Luck, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, Tracker, Vengeance Unlimited, VR.5, Witchblade, and possibly Mister Sterling) (You can't tell I'm a SciFi fan, can you?)

It's gotten so bad that I won't watch new shows that I've heard are great until it's been on at least 3 seasons - It seems that every time I get hooked on a show, it disappears... Of course, now, I just get the DVDs of the complete series. (That's how I've watched Angel, and will probably watch 24.)

Okay, done ranting now!