In Case You Missed It: Too Many Cooks!

Yeah, I know. I'm at the tail end of this one. That's what you get when you don't blog much on weekends, and you get busy after that. But I wanted this here anyway, because it's such a perfect encapsulation of my many pop culture touchstones; a stew of TV and movie tropes all stirred together brilliantly. Though, I'm quite sure it leaves people scratching their heads.

Suffice to say, the longer you watch, the weirder (and more trippy) it gets.
 

Blast from the Past: This Has Been a Miller-Milkis-Boyett Production!

This past weekend, I watched The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas on DVD, on a whim. I was surprised to see that it was a "Miller-Milkis-Boyett Production." This is curious to a pop-culture geek like me, because, they're not known for movies. No, MMB (or some combination of the three) were responsible for several huge (and not so huge) sitcoms of the seventies, eighties and nineties. So, in this late edition of Blast from the Past, I thought I'd revisit some of them. See how many you remember.

1. Happy Days (1974-1984) - Fonzie, Richie, Potsie and Ralph were a huge part of 70s pop culture, and their show put Garry Marshall (and his family) on the map, and spun off a few more shows.
2. Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983) - By far Happy Days' most successful spin-off, Garry's sister Penny and Cindy Williams actually eclipsed the parent show for a couple of years.


3. Mork & Mindy (1978-1982) - Robin Williams broke out, and shot into the stratosphere with this Happy Days spin-off, and then sputtered out after inexplicable executive meddling.
4. Angie (1979-1980) - Rather short-lived for a show with a lot of promise. Robert Hays (Airplane!) and Donna Pescow (Saturday Night Fever) starred with Doris Roberts (Everybody Loves Raymond). Also a death by executive meddling.


5. Bosom Buddies (1980-1982) - Can you believe a show starring Tom Hanks would only last two seasons? Or that co-star Peter Scolari often out-shined him in the talent department? It's true!
6. Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-1983) - One of television's punch lines, this spin-off of Happy Days was actually (briefly) a hit. And then collapsed.


7. Perfect Strangers (1986-1993) - Balki wore thin after several seasons, but for the first few, this was a really fun sitcom, mostly due to Bronson Pinchot.
8. Family Matters (1980-1998) - Spun off of Perfect Strangers, this show was--to me--horrific. But to kids of the time, it's kind of their Happy Days, and apparently Steve Urkel is their Fonzie. Whatever. . .


9. Valerie/Valerie's Family: The Hogans/The Hogan Family (1986-1991) - Originally a starring vehicle for Valerie Harper--whose character was ultimately killed off in an awful contract dispute--ultimately it became The Jason Bateman show despite its various other titles, and new star, Sandy Duncan.
10. Step By Step (1991-1998) - Suzanne Somers and Patrick Duffy in a pointless, rice-cake of a sitcom. Just bland as hell, but again, if you were a kid at the time. . .maybe. . .it was just okay?


And with that bit of fluff, we'll call it a day. But since Monday's over, I'll wish you all a happy short work week, with a faster weekend!

PS. I'm well aware that I skipped Full House. Horrid show.

Blast from the Past: Mid-Season Replacements!

We're in sort of a wasteland time of year on network television (those of us who even still watch CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX. . .and CW). You never know if you're going to get a new episode of your favorite show, a rerun, a "burnoff" episode of a cancelled show, a pre-emption by sports or political event, a lame network reality show you've never heard of, or the latest infotainment newsmagazine. Some shows are in new episodes, some are in reruns, some are on indefinite hiatus, and some you thought maybe got cancelled, are actually set for their season premieres. You never know what you're going to get.

The other thing that happens this time of year is a reshuffling of the surviving shows, temporary (or permanent) hiatuses for some shows, and the launch of "midseason replacement" shows. The Following, starring Kevin Bacon is a recent example of this, and its second season starts January 21. So, it got me to thinking about noteworthy shows that started in mid-season. And now, you can think about it!

1. All in the Family (Jan. 12, 1971)
2. Barney Miller (Jan. 23, 1975)


3. Blossom (Jan. 3, 1991)
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Mar. 10, 1997)



5. Dallas (Apr. 2, 1978)
6. Dynasty (Jan. 12, 1981)



7. Happy Days (Jan. 15, 1974)
8. Laverne & Shirley (Jan. 27, 1976)



9. Married. . .with Children (Apr. 5, 1987)
10. Night Court (Jan. 4, 1984)


So, break out the TV Guide. . .app on your phone. Or just go through the DVR or on demand to. . .oh forget it. This is one concept that will be consigned to the scrap heap as more and more programming is on our own schedules, on cable or elsewhere. But that's kind of the point of Blast from the Past. For you youngsters out there, you should know that most of these programs debuted when most people had three or four channels, or maybe a couple dozen if they were lucky. With a wired cable box with physical buttons!


Anyway, that's it for this week's edition. Hope everyone is staying healthy enough to have a happy Monday!

Blast from the Past: Best TV Themes of All Time (Part 1)

This is a Blast from the Past that needs very little exposition. These are my very favorite TV theme songs, and they rather speak for themselves. Either they are very catchy tunes, very meaningful lyrics, particularly good editing-with-music, or iconic pop culture confections. I'll insert a couple comments, but they mostly stand on their own. So, without further ado. . .



1. Laverne & Shirley: A spunky duo of 50s/60s gals face life on their own. Togetherness and determination all the way.
2. One Day at a Time: A divorcee strikes out on her own with two daughters in tow. And the theme song encourages others to strike their own path no matter what.



3. Simon and Simon: A detective team made of brothers who are like night and day. The theme song is cooler than the premise.

4. Knots Landing: A suburban cul-de-sac, loosely connected to the drama of Dallas. Soapy (but fun) show with an amazing theme song that changed from season to season. But season 5's was the best.

5. Gimme a Break: Fun theme song to a borderline racistly premised show.
6. Gimme a Break: Revised theme song to a borderline racistly premised show.



7. Dynasty: Glitzy soap opera, based in Denver, Colorado.
8. Dallas: Glitzy soap opera, based in Dallas, Texas.



9. Beverly Hills, 90210: superficial teen drama.
10. Melrose Place: superficial adult drama.

And that will do it for this edition of Blast from the Past. If I continue this series (and I very likely will), my "Best TV Themes of All Time" will very likely run to about 10 segments. And it's only that short, because some of my favorite shows have had no--or very nearly no--theme songs at all. Count this as batch #1, and have a great week, everybody!

Blast from the Past: Presidential TV Shows!

It's President's Day, and I have a surprise day off from work. So, woohoo, right? But what am I going to do for Blast from the Past this week? And even though I'm off from my regular job, I had quite a bit of weekend part-time work, so I'm brain fried. But how about this? How many TV Shows were there about the President of the United States, and/or the White House? Surprisingly, quite a few. . .


1. The West Wing (1999-2006) - Obviously, this is (so far) the most successful of the bunch. It was supposed to be just about the President's staff, but Martin Sheen was so good at being Josiah "Jed" Bartlett, he became an integral part of the show.

2. Hail to the Chief  (1985) - An attempt to do a sitcom about the first female president (Patty Duke) failed, but maybe Hillary Clinton can pull it off for real in 2016?



3. Mr. President (1987-1988) - Even with the gravitas of George C. Scott as the president, a comedy about the White House just didn't seem to take. It featured Madeline Kahn though, and for that it's worth remembering.

4. The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer (1998) - A comedy about the Lincoln White House? Yes, that happened, with Chi McBride as the president's valet, and Dann Florek as Abraham Lincoln.



5. Commander in Chief (2005-2006) - Another series, this time a drama, about the first woman president, with Geena Davis. A good show, with a West Wing vibe about it, but it didn't work.

6. That's My Bush! (2001) - A comedy about George W. Bush sounds like a match made in heaven, particularly with South Park's Trey Parker & Matt Stone at the helm. But, it was very early in Bush's run (there would be much more fodder later), and if it had taken off, they would have had to deal with September 11 and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. A little heavy, don't you think? Featured Timothy Bottoms as Dubya.

It's worth pointing out that there are currently three shows about the executive branch on television at the moment, 1600 Penn with Bill Pullman as prez, The First Family with Christopher B. Duncan, and Veep with Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Vice President. But those shows are not a Blast from the Past, and frankly, this week's edition was laborious and time consuming. So, though there may be more examples of White House-centric television, we're going to have to leave at at six for now!

Happy Monday and happy President's Day!

Blast from the Past: Mid-Season Replacements!

We're in sort of a wasteland time of year on network television (those of us who even still watch CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX. . .and CW). You never know if you're going to get a new episode of your favorite show, a rerun, a "burnoff" episode of a cancelled show, a pre-emption by sports or political event, a lame network reality show you've never heard of, or the latest infotainment newsmagazine. During the entire month of January, for example The Big Bang Theory ran two new, two old, and a new one is on this Thursday, with some reruns on occasional Mondays. You never know what you're going to get.

The other thing that happens this time of year is a reshuffling of the surviving shows, temporary (or permanent) hiatuses for some shows, and the launch of "midseason replacement" shows. The Following, starring Kevin Bacon is the latest example of this, and it has me very interested. So, it got me to thinking about noteworthy shows that started in mid-season. And now, you can think about it!

1. All in the Family (Jan. 12, 1971)
2. Barney Miller (Jan. 23, 1975)




3. Blossom (Jan. 3, 1991)
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Mar. 10, 1997)




5. Dallas (Apr. 2, 1978)
6. Dynasty (Jan. 12, 1981)




7. Happy Days (Jan. 15, 1974)
8. Laverne & Shirley (Jan. 27, 1976)




9. Married. . .with Children (Apr. 5, 1987)
10. Night Court (Jan. 4, 1984)


So, break out the TV Guide. . .app on your phone. Or just go through the DVR or on demand to. . .oh forget it. This is one concept that will be consigned to the scrap heap as more and more programming is on our own schedules, on cable or elsewhere. But that's kind of the point of Blast from the Past. For you youngsters out there, you should know that most of these programs debuted when most people had three or four channels, or maybe a couple dozen if they were lucky. With a wired cable box with physical buttons!


Anyway, that's it for this week's edition. Hope everyone is staying healthy enough to have a happy Monday!

Blast from the Past [Bonus Edition]: Early FOX TV Shows, Pt. 1

When I sat down to do the previous post, I just didn't have an idea in me for Blast from the Past. The only thing I could think of was old FOX TV shows, and what relevance would that have? Then I turn on FOX, and they're rerunning their anniversary special! Whattaya know? So, I figured I could slap something together for this week afterall. But it's just gonna be clips, no commentary. This blogger is tired!

And with that, I realize I'm done for this week, and I've retroactively retitled this "Pt. 1," and may come back at some point to ad commentary! This one really did give me a blast from the past.

Have a great week, everyone. Happy Monday!

Blast from the Past: Sitcom Bloopers

This week's edition of Blast from the Past was inspired by the movie Bridesmaids, which I got on blu-ray today. I finished the film--funny, but oversold, much like The Hangover--by watching the gag reel. If you like the performers in a movie or TV show, the bloopers can be spectacularly entertaining. And with TV in particular, you are very familiar with the performer and the character. So the bloopers seem even funnier.

So, I decided to raid the YouTubes, and see what I could come up with for some classic sitcom bloopers. And here we go. . .

First up is Friends, a 10-season classic. Second, The Big Bang Theory, a currently-airing show. But since this is from season 3, it counts as a blast from the past, I guess.



Next, is one of my favorite shows, Laverne & Shirley, with an unfortunately short clip. Naturally, Three's Company, the innocently dirty show that followed is next.



Frasier deserves a slot, given its longevity (I'm sure there are bloopers for parent show Cheers available too), followed by Two and a Half Men, before they killed off Charlie Sheen's character.


I couldn't leave Roseanne off the list. Or Will & Grace either.

And I could probably keep going with this. But since the Google Blogger interface is literally EATING the clips as I put them up, I'd better finish now before they're gone! Happy Monday!

Do You Remember: Wings

What the heck am I doing commenting on the late (unlamented) sitcom, Wings?  Well, I'm writing this in the waning hours of April 19, my birthday.  I share my birthday with luminaries like the late Dudley Moore, the fantastic Tim Curry, Ashley Judd, Kate Hudson, Hayden Christensen and. . .strangely. . .exactly--year and all--with Marion "Suge" Knight.

Also, on my birthday, was the Waco incident (1993) and the Oklahoma City bombing (1995).  Nice, right?  There's the "shot heard 'round the world," which started the American Revolutioin (1775), and that's a little more positively noteworthy.  Also, on my 21st birthday, The Simpsons made its first appearance on The Tracey Ullman Show.  Better.  And also?  Wings.  Yep. 21 years ago, when I was a babe of 23.  I had a bit of a thing for both Tim Daly and Steven Weber. But it was only after I started this blog that I found out about Weber's writing.  He's me with a bettter talent for expressing himself.  Sometimes his blogs feel like they came out of my brain with a stronger (much funnier) voice.  So, I couldn't resist this blast from the past post.

[Excerpt]

'Wings' Cast: Where Are They Now?

It was a wacky world on the NBC '90s sitcom 'Wings.' Anything could happen on the ensemble show, from witty repartee to outlandish sight gags to a breathy romance or two. . .

Read more at: AOL

90s Nostalgia: Melrose Place to Return?

Image from source, Pink is the New Blog

This blog didn't used to be all about politics. And it certainly didn't used to be all about the Presidential campaign. But like many other general-interest bloggers, avoiding the pull of it has been like trying to avoid a black hole. Still, I like to put some good old frivolity into the blog on occasion.

And how can you get more frivolous than Melrose Place? Spun off of Beverly Hills, 90210 back in the 90s, Melrose was a frothy, silly, sometimes downright stupid soap opera. And I never missed an episode.

I stuck with it through a boring first half-season, mostly for Matt, the love-lorn gay character (a rarity in those days). Then, to spice things up, they added Heather Locklear as a mean bitch (surprise!), and seriously amped up the storylines. Unlike many other serials, MP moved at lightning-quick speed, throwing two or three cliffhangers into almost every episode. It was seriously addictive, and by the time Desperate Housewives' Marcia Cross blew a gasket (and blew up the apartment building), I was a total junkie.

But, like the "Moldavian Massacre" on Dynasty, the show never fully recovered from that amazing rush of episodes. I still watched, as cast members came and went, and Locklear went through every man on the show. They killed off Matt, and still I watched, right through the ludicrous ending.

If they can build a following by writing a snappy, fast-paced show like classic Melrose, seasons 2 and 3, they'll really have something. I was never a 90210 fan, and haven't checked out the remake. But this one might just be worth a look.

[Excerpt]

A ‘Melrose Place’ Redux In The Works?

Andrew Shue, call your agent. A spokesperson for The CW confirms what has been buzzed about for months: The network is developing an update of Melrose Place. Details remain sketchy, but it’s believed Melrose 2.0 would launch next fall. The move comes as The CW has enjoyed some measure of success with its 90210 reboot. Despite modest ratings, the show has brought attention to the struggling network at a time when it sorely needs it. The suits no doubt figure a Melrose rebirth will generate another round of mass hysteria. (And they’d be right!) Earlier this month, Darren Star, who created both Melrose and 90210, admitted to TVGuide.com that a Melrose resurrection “would be a fun thing to do. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened — if it can be put together in the right way. . .”

Read more at: Pink is the New Blog

Blast from the Past: 80s & 90s TV Comedies

Ah, nostalgia. Say what you will about the TV landscape, television today is pretty high class. Outside of lame comedies like According to Jim, and reality TV in general, TV these days is pretty top notch. Shows like Boston Legal and Medium and many others are fast-paced, plot-rich, and engaging. Shows from the eighties and earlier simply would not play these days.

But for post-baby-boomer, early Generation-Xers like me, some of the classic shows of the 80s & 90s will always hold a soft-spot in our hearts, regardless of their merits. Here are a few of my favorites, even though they'd only last a few episodes these days.





#1 - Gimme a Break - A standard-issue sitcom with racist overtones, this show cast a fat black woman (Nell Carter) in charge of a bunch of white kids. Still, she managed to rise above the premise.

#2 - Herman's Head - A tragically underrated sitcom from FOX's semi-early days. It starred William Ragsdale (Fright Night), who had a cast of characters in his head that represented his various emotions. Also starred Yeardly Smith (Lisa Simpson) and Hank Azaria (countless other Simpsons characters). Very funny, and would probably play today.

#3 - Empty Nest - The brilliant Richard Mulligan (Burt Campbell on Soap) played a widower who suddenly had to deal with his daughters moving in. Dinah Manoff (Marty Marachino--like the cherry--from Grease) played the crazy daughter, and paradoxically, troubled Kristy McNichol played the level-headed daughter. Throw in David Leisure (the lying Isuzu guy) and Park Overall, and you had a very, very talented cast. This quasi-spinoff of The Golden Girls had less of a following, but was just as funny.

#4 - Head of the Class - This was Howard Hessman's follow-up to his classic role as Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati (not counting his short-lived role as Bonnie Franklin's husband in the waning seasons of One Day at a Time). Here, Hessman played a throwback hippie teacher to a bunch of intellectually gifted students. Not a classic, but it was pretty funny in its day. And co-star Robin Givens married Mike Tyson, so. . .no wait, that's not so good. . .