Mary Tyler Moore Dead at 80

It's a good bet that a huge majority of Americans
think of this when they think of Mary Tyler Moore.
Image from source, MSN

Sniff. I mean, seriously, sniff. Yes, she was 80. No, we can't blame it on the 2016 Grim Reaper on Steroids. Yes, she'd been in ill health for some time, in fact living with juvenile diabetes for most of her life. But dammit, for some people, there's no such thing as a timely death.

Mary Tyler Moore is of course most well-known for her eponymous TV show in the 70s, a truly ground-breaking television show in or outside of the sitcom genre. She was a single gal in the city, never married and (gasp) past 30. She was a gay icon before the world (or even some gays) new what that meant. I read today somewhere, that Mary Richards, her character--like many gays trying to fit in--was absurdly nice and kind to a fault, had an awkward and weird dating life, had an assortment of oddballs as a "family" in the big city, away from family. Hello, that's "single gay male" for a whole lot us. And I'll be honest, even though I was just a touch too young to be a real Mary Tyler Moore Show fan, I did identify, though maybe more with sidekick Rhoda.

Moore was of course already well known as Laura Petrie, perky housewife on The Dick Van Dyke Show, by the time of MTM. And, with ex-husband Grant Tinker, formed a sizable and influential television production studio (also MTM), which aired one of my favorites of all time, WKRP in Cincinnati. She was also an an Emmy and Acadamy Award winning actress. And though she got her greatest acclaim in the 1960s and 70s, she was never too far out of the limelight, or our pop culture. She'll be missed. And will continue to turn the world on with her smile. RIP, Mare.

[Excerpt]

Legendary Actress Mary Tyler Moore Dies at 80

Mary Tyler Moore, who played TV’s first sexy housewife and then a single, career woman who could turn the world on with her smile and toss her hat in the air like no other, died on Wednesday. She was 80. . .

Read more at: MSN

the MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW INTRO by jcbsebrigh

It's Time to Bury 2 Broke Girl$

Image from Wikipedia

I just watched the season finale of CBS' 2 Broke Girl$, which just wrapped up its fifth season, unbelievably. Now, I do realize that as a 50-year-old, I am not this program's target audience. Though I was a wee 45-year-old when it started, have been a fan of Garrett Morris since episode 1 of Saturday Night Live, and adored the show's prototype, Laverne & Shirley. Also, I'm of the gay persuasion--a demographic that the show manages to lampoon, insult, pander to and sometimes embodies the spirit of. So, I'm sort of in the mix after all.

But the show is terrible. Just awful. Oddly, even so, I probably saw the majority of the first four seasons, and a decent amount of season five. I don't even know why. I kept hoping its vortex of bad would stop sucking me in, but no. The awfulness of it, for some reason, compels me. And it's bad in so many ways, and on so many levels. The casting is bad. The acting is bad. The writing is bad. The jokes are bad. The storyline is bad. The continuity is bad. It's thorough, I'll give it that. But why is it so bad? That's a tougher nut. Because though all of what I just said is true, I really don't think the actors are bad, or that the creator (Whitney Cummings) or writers themselves are bad. It's just that somehow, the show is so tremendously less than the sum of its parts.

A horse in Georgetown. Seems legit.

The premise is simple. A Bernie Madoff type goes to jail, and leaves his rich bitch daughter broke and alone in New York. She's taken in by a lower class waitress, and the two embark on a dream to open a cupcake shop, while working in a diner. Nothing particularly bad about the premise. The diner is run by a short Korean man, who is the endless butt of jokes, generally about his height, alleged androgyny and/or boyishness. The jokes never evolve, get better, nor have ever been funny. The character hasn't improved from a one-note caricature either. Oleg, the repellent, horny, ethnic cook is equally undeveloped, non-evolving and unfunny. Kat Dennings is the streetwise Max, authentic broke girl, and Beth Behrs is the newly broke, blonde Caroline. Garrett Morris rounded out the original cast, and came off best, as the grizzled cashier of the diner.

Another wasted actor (Sandra Bernhard) in another
illogical (and ultimately aborted) story arc.

In season one, the immediate impression given by the show was that it was primarily a vehicle for big eyed, big boobed Dennings to crack wise, and deliver double- and single-entendre jokes about sex and body functions. At top volume. Dennings (and to be fair, most of the cast) seems to be unaware that the studio has microphones. Lines are shouted to the rafters, as in a high school play. And with nearly as much subtlety. The show does not do subtlety, and does not do hushed tones. At all. The decibel level is astonishingly grating.

Many episodes center around Max and Caroline trying to pick up extra work, or just extra money via schemes, part-time jobs, second or third jobs, going to pastry school, running a pastry shop, a cupcake window, working in an airport restaurant, in an upscale restaurant, and on and on. These side jobs and adventures can last an episode, a short arc, a season-long arc, aborted arc, you name it, and they seldom make a bit of sense scheduling-wise with their diner jobs. This sort of thing was easier to accept in the simpler 70s, when Laverne & Shirley would somehow keep their brewery jobs while joining the army, or becoming candy stripers. TV was simpler then, for one thing. The brewery was a day job, for another. And I was ten.

Laverne & Shirley wasn't perfect, and was just as loud,
but they were so much better.

L&S never tried to pass off a thoroughbred horse being kept as a pet, in the courtyard of an inner city apartment as normal or possible either. They did have loud and annoying secondary characters in Lenny & Squiggy. Girl$ has one, embodied by the (usually terrific) Jennifer Coolidge Sophie character, a brash, Polish, zaftig neighbor, greeted by whoops from the audience whenever she appears, in seam-bursting, over-stuffed dresses. Sophie has little reason to be in each episode, so they paired her, despite logic and lack of chemistry, with Oleg, and have not only made the couple over-sexed (and public about it), but have decided by season five to have 54-year-old Coolidge (depicted as a cougar in American Pie some 17 years ago) become pregnant.

Despite the show's many faults, I have, as I said, for some reason watched a majority of the show while it's been on. Occasionally, they've done something right. As when they've brought on love interests for the girls, notably Nick Zano's Johnny, Ryan Hansen's Candy Andy, Eric Andre's Deke and Ed Quinn's Randy (the best of the bunch, despite his nineteen-year age difference with Dennings). But as with the aborted storylines with all of the mini-careers the girls have started, each of these relationships seems to abruptly end, not because the storyline demands it, but because it seems the show is just like that.

Ed Quinn wasn't enough to make this a good show. But
it sure got my attention. Looking good for almost 50,
Ed! Well played, show.

2 Broke Girls loves the reset button. They love to have the girls in the diner, in those awful outfits, screaming their lines, ignoring no sexual pun, even stretched ones, still making fun of how short Han is, and how old Earl is. So, out with the boyfriend. Out with the gay waiter, or the Irish waiter, or any other staff at the diner. Out with the separate cupcake shop they somehow ran at night simultaneously with their night time diner jobs. Windfalls of money must be spent down to nearly (or past) zero. And no character development can take the characters out of their originally established one-note personality.

So, what spurred me to write about this terrible show, now renewed for its 6th year? Again, I don't know. I think checking in on it after missing several episodes, wondering why the impossibly good looking, talented, and much-too-old-for-the-part Ed Quinn was hanging around, and incredulous that the show manages to stay on the schedule, despite never improving. The show should be put down, as should poor, neglected Chestnut, the pet horse.

Conservative Group Attempts Humor, Leading Into First Democratic Debate

Stop trying to be funny, conservatives. This is an attempt to make the Democrats look silly, and I can't fault them for that. But with the shenanigans going on, on the right side of the political world right now? They need to do a whole lot better than this.

 

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.
 

Robin Williams, Dead at 63

Image from source, LA Times

Few celebrity deaths hit me with any oomph. Michael Jackson. Gilda Radner. Madeline Kahn. And now, Robin Williams. I heard the news on my drive home from work, and it had apparently just broken. My mouth hung open for close to a minute, as I drove. "Suspected suicide." I just. . .some people aren't supposed to end.

I was the perfect age for the character of Mork, when he was introduced on Happy Days. 12 years old, and--like every other kid in America--a fan of both that show and Laverne & Shirley. Williams' zany character took off instantly, and helped turn the already burgeoning ABC TV schedule into a juggernaut. For a pop culture fan like me, it just put me deeper in. He was so funny and bizarre in the role, it somehow felt both safe and dangerous. I think Williams was often like that. Inconceivably, network meddling killed Mork & Mindy, after its very first season, but it took three years to die. Cast and timeslot changes caused a huge amount of viewer loss. I never left, but the audience eventually did. It's a shame too, because when Williams' hero, Jonathan Winters joined the show as his son, there were some classic moments.

Image from source, LA Times

I continued to be a fan of Williams, though not to the degree I did as a kid. I've always enjoyed his brand of humor, and thought he was a great actor. I just wasn't a fan of some of the roles he picked. Still, whenever he's pop up on Letterman or elsewhere, he was just a hoot to watch. Then, when he returned to television, with The Crazy Ones (a terrible title, unfortunately), I had to watch. To be fair, it had something to do with costars Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Wolk, but Williams' part was part of the draw. I watched every episode. It gelled into a wonderful ensemble, and it's really sad that it didn't make it. I've got to wonder if his spirits wouldn't have been better. . .or better enough. . .had the show been renewed instead of cancelled this spring. RIP, Robin.

[Excerpt]

Robin Williams dies in apparent suicide; actor, comic was 63

Robin Williams, a comic and sitcom star in the 1970s who became an Oscar-winning dramatic actor, died Monday at 63 in Marin County. The Marin County Sheriff's Office said he appears to have committed suicide. The news of the beloved actor’s death rocked the nation. Channels broke into their usual programming to make the announcement, and within minutes, Williams dominated online trending topics. Even President Obama noted his passing. . .

Read more at: Los Angeles Times

 

Blast from the Past: Classic Bloopers!

Some weeks in my Blast from the Past columns, I pick a subject, find my video clips, and then do descriptions of each, in brief or at length. Other weeks, the videos kind of speak for themselves. The latter weeks are easier! So, while combing my brain for ideas, I hit upon one that requires very little commentary from me: bloopers from classic shows of the distant and more recent past. I'm going into this not knowing how much I'll find, so let's discover together.

1. Happy Days, 1974-1984
 

2. Laverne & Shirley, 1976-1983
 

3. Mork & Mindy, 1978-1982
4. The Brady Bunch, 1969-1974
 

5. The Carol Burnett Show, 1967-1978
6. The Golden Girls, 1985-1992
 

7. Family Ties, 1982-1989
8. Friends, 1994-2004
 

And that's it for the weekend. See how easy it was? Heh. Happy Monday, everybody.

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!

40 Classic TV Holiday Moments in 2 Minutes

WKRP in Cincinnati: "Turkeys Away!"

If you never watched WKRP in Cincinnati, this is the first episode you should watch. And if you did? Watch it again! It's a Thanksgiving tradition! Have a great Thanksgiving everybody.

 

Blast from the Past: TV Shows with More than One Title

I got to thinking about this subject kind of on one of those "brain skip" things I do, where a pondering leads to another pondering and to another. I have no idea what made me think of the 80s sitcom, It's a Living, and how it was retitled Making a Living and then was restarted years later again as It's a Living. But it gave me the idea for Blast from the Past, TV shows that changed their names. Maybe it's kind of random, but when is this subject not?

It's a Living vs. Making a Living
 

Valerie vs. Valerie's Family: The Hogans, vs. The Hogan Family
 

Good Morning Miss Bliss vs. Saved by the Bell
 

These Friends of Mine vs. Ellen
(Title was changed, but appears as "Ellen" in the first clip anyway)
 

 

Jean Stapleton Dead at 90

Image from source, Yahoo

Awww jeez. Why you gotta go and do that for, Edith? Sadness here at Greenlee Gazette, even though she made it to 90, and died of natural causes. I mean, who can ask for better than that? But Jean Stapleton is such a treasured figure from just about anybody's nostalgic memories of the 1970s. There was simply no one else like her. Even though I was only 5 years old when All in the Family debuted, it was always on, and the show worked on so many levels, everyone liked it. Conservatives could agree with Archie Bunker while liberals could laugh at him. Kids would miss the adult material, but delight in the characters, particularly "dingbat" Edith. And I can't imagine any other actress bringing Edith to life in the way Stapleton did. RIP, Jean.

[Excerpt]

Jean Stapleton, who played TV's Edith Bunker, dies at age 90

Emmy-winning actress Jean Stapleton, best known for her role as Edith Bunker in the groundbreaking 1970s' television series "All in the Family," has died at age 90, her son said on Saturday. . .

Read more at: Yahoo

Behind the Blogger: Pop Culture Potholes

I like to consider myself a pop culture guru. I have a talent for remembering the minutia of cast lists, TV schedules, the years movies or songs came out, third or fourth hits from bands people think are one-hit wonders. . . the lot. It's something of a useless talent, now that we have the Googles on the internets. I've been replaced by a smart phone these days.

But it's always been something of a sham, anyway. There is a huge list of pop culture that I've never sampled. Some of it proudly (oddly), and some I've just either never gotten around to, or never had any interest in. So here, in brief, is a list of pop culture that I've never taken part in.

Movies

- Any Godfather movie
- Citizen Kane
- Any Twilight movie
- Enter the Dragon, or anything from the martial arts ouvre
- Rudy or almost any other sports-themed movie
- Any Rocky or Rambo movie
- Annie Hall
- Any Acadamy Award Best Picture movie from 1976 to 1989, including The Deer Hunter, Amadeus, Platoon, Terms of Endearment and Gandhi 

Television

- The King of Queens
- The Nanny
- According to Jim
- The Sopranos
- Game of Thrones
- Madmen
- Monk 
- Walker, Texas Ranger
- Sons of Anarchy
- Breaking Bad- The Vampire Diaries
- And oddly for me, Smallville, Arrow, Charmed and Supernatural 

Books


- Any The Gunslinger Stephen King story (though I've read everything else)
- The Red Badge of Courage
- The Grapes of Wrath
- Gone With the Wind
- W.E.B. Griffitn, Tom Clancy or almost any other military-themed work
- Fifty Shades of Grey
- The Book of Mormon (I tried, but then "it came to pass. . ." 10,000 times)
- The Scarlet Letter
- The Catcher in the Rye
-  Diary of Anne Frank

Frivolity Break: Awesome Floorplans of Your Favorite Shows

Bewitched floorplan from
Harpie's Bizarre, impossible
because some episodes show the
sink looking out over a yard.

Thanks to Kenneth in the (212), who posted a piece on a fantastic web site. Or rather, one that hits my pop culture sweet spot, dead center. Since I was a kid, I've pondered stage sets, floorplans and facades of television shows. Is that weird? Maybe it is, but the producers feature establishing shots of their characters' homes for a reason, right? They want you to get a feel for where these people live.

As long ago as the early 70s, I wondered why the house shown at the beginning of All in the Family didn't match the interior floor plan of the house. On the other hand, I also noticed the very well-done floor plan of the the house on Bewitched, and though it may not work 100% on paper, it's close enough to suspend reality. As the years rolled on, this little quirk of mine never went away. The establishing shot of the house on Grace Under Fire seemed preposterously small for the interior. The exterior of the Conner family house on Roseanne was impossible given the living room set. On Seinfeld, the refrigerator would have had to extend into the hallway. And how could The Golden Girls have a garage that shared a space with their bedrooms (not to mention the very short hallway that lead to them).

Sort of an unlikely apartment in real life.
Image from BlogHer

Some of it you have to willfully ignore, due to the necessity of laying out a stage. Real houses don't flare out like a ball diamond, but on a three-camera sitcom, they have to. Real apartments and homes aren't typically shaped like a gerrymandered Congressional district either, but that is another conceit of set design. And since most sets don't have a fourth wall, there always seems to be an infinite space in front of "the couch" area, where most of us would have a TV. And what about behind the couch, where even in the projects of Good Times, there's plenty of space to walk behind, and often even an unused sitting room (think One Day at a Time, All in the Family).

One of the many terrific renderings found at HiConsumption

Obviously, this bugs other people too, because several different creative people have tried their hand at creating sets that work. . .or almost work. . .for some of the most famous shows in TV Land. As you can see if you check out the plan for Seinfeld, there isn't only one way to imagine how a floorplan might exist in reality. And sometimes, you just have to pretend it works. Otherwise, you're forced to ponder why the apartment building on The Big Bang Theory seems to have just two mismatched apartments on each floor, with Penny's side implausibly suspended over the entryway.

You can find these renderings all over the internet, but the link below is a treasure trove of high quality imaginings. Check it out.

Source: HiConsumption, via Kenneth in the (212)

Blast from the Past: Best TV Themes of All Time (Part 2)

On some of the better blogs out there, you'll find detailed lists of the best blank of all time, with all sorts of details and notes, probably links and whatnot. And they'll rank them down to number one. Well, folks, I'm a hobbyist blogger, and while I like to think I'm good at what I do, I am also a procrastinator. Which puts my Blast from the Past column down into the later hours of each Sunday night (unless I manage to remember earlier), giving me a less than ideal amount of time to do all of that. So, while this is my second installment (not counting any earlier iterations I have likely posted over the years) of "Best TV Themes of All Time," I find that the first edition was misleading. They are a grouping of my favorites, but in no particular order. This week's batch contains themes I like better than some of last week's, and some from last week's are better than this. Consider each batch to be only part of a larger list, in no particular order, and we're all set!



1. Soap - A deliriously goofy spoof of soap operas, Soap was a trailblazer, tackling gay rights, abortion, alien abduction, amnesia, exorcism, murder, infidelity and all manner of scandals. And it had a charming, memorable theme.

2. Barney Miller - This jazzy theme was the highlight for me of the whole show, which mostly went over my tween-aged head at the time. In retrospect, the show was pretty great too.



3. CHiPs - The show was stock 70s drama with a dash of cheesy humor, and gave a terrifying view of Los Angeles freeway traffic. But the theme was classic.

4. Quincy, M.E. - Long before Crossing Jordan, Body of Proof or CSI: Wherever, there was Quincy, the original TV forensic investigator. And he had another classic 70s theme.



5. Sonny & Cher - I didn't realize at the time that the theme for this show was taken from one of the duo's best songs, The Beat Goes On. I was, after all, five years old when I started watching it.

6. Wonder Woman - This show was truly 70s cheese, but it starred the lovely Lynda Carter, who was a perfect casting choice. The theme had several versions, none a musical masterpiece. . .but there was something compelling about it just the same. Surely, it owes something to the 60s camp classic, Batman.



7. Night Court - Okay, this one makes me sure I've run a series on this topic before, as I know I've used this clip. But you know what? It's worthy of a rerun, and this is a great theme from one of the most surreal sitcoms ever to air, certainly for as long as this one did.

8. Bewitched - This was always one of my favorite shows, and I wish they hadn't almost ruined it as a premise with the Nicole Kidman "re-imagined" movie. Unforgivable! Maybe in a few years, they can revisit the idea of a witchy wife, and this time do it justice..



9. I Dream of Jeannie - As far as the magical sitcoms go, Bewitched wins hands down, in my opinion. But there is no doubt that Jeannie had a terrific theme (if you ignore the first season).

10. Green Acres - This was one of CBS's many rural-themed sitcoms, but it was by far the most surreal, a show that would be easy to dismiss as "stupid." But today we know better, don't we? Most of all, it had one of those "explain the premise in one minute flat" theme songs. How can you lose?

And that, friends and neighbors, will do it for this week's installment. Once again, small apologies if this topic has been revisited to often for your taste. Next week, I'll change gears, but I may come back to this idea with a third installment of --I promise--a different set of favorites. Happy Monday!

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!

Happy 91st Birthday, Betty White

Still sassy after all these years. Image from Jezebel.

I started to type that Betty White has been famous and popular ever since I've been alive. But that's pretty much true for everybody. Like everyone, I watched her on Mary Tyler Moore, but unlike everyone, I also watched her on The Betty White Show. That one didn't take. I especially remember her (I mean, before The Golden Girls) from her guest spots on game shows like Password and The Liars' Club. The bubbly, sweet, kinda goofy, and kinda bawdy gal she is today she was then--as much as 70s television would allow anyway. And then of course, add Betty's sitcom and movie triumphs from the 80s to today (if you forgive The Golden Palace), and there's a career of making more people happy than just about anyone, ever. So, happy birthday, Betty!

[Excerpt]

Betty White Turned 91 Today, Let’s Celebrate the Nonagenarian by Talking About Her Rad Life

Not just anyone is celebrated with a birthday special featuring Bill "Hillary's Husband" Clinton*, but that's what happens when you're Betty White. . .

Read more at: Jezebel

Rainn Wilson: Don't Watch "Filth" Like The Office

The Office still manages to be funny, even in its second season after the departure of Steve Carrell. It's not really "must see TV" anymore, but you could certainly do a lot worse. One of the reasons for its consistency is Rainn Wilson, the delightfully odd and creepy Dwight Schrute. This timely clip skewers Angus T. Jones' religiously nutty dissing of his own show, Two and a Half Men, another sitcom that lost its original star, and plods along anyway.

Two & A Half Men Star Finds Religion, Loses Mind

Who knew crazy was contagious? From People.

As an atheist, I have a very low tolerance level for religious foolishness. I understand that I'm supposed to respect peoples' religious beliefs. In point of fact, I don't. Well, let's not be too harsh. I respect your right to believe anything you wish. But I reserve the right to think that those beliefs are stupid.

In the stupid category I would put radical, nutbar religions like Seventh Day Adventists. And into that religion did one Angus T. Jones apparently fall. In what I'm hoping is either a publicity stunt, or a classic Punk'd episode with costar Ashton Kutcher, Jones--who plays Jake Harper, the half man of the title--has come out against the show. The show that made him a star, and is solely responsible for anyone knowing or caring what he has to say.  As I said, I hope it's all a ruse. If it's not, he's playing with the livelihoods of his costars and those of everyone associated with the show, all based on nothing more than this addle-brained, crazy-pants religious sect. And I'd lay money on Angus being very embarrassed by all of this when he outgrows his "religious phase." I may actually believe he's for real if he gives back all of the money he's gained from his "filthy" show.