Star Wars: Attack of the Osmonds

Image from source, TV Squad

Earlier, I put up a couple of posts that bordered on the bizarre. After visiting a site called TV Squad, I think I found something that tops them.

Back in the 1970s (my Wonder Years), pretty much anything could end up on television and be a hit. One of the programs that made it big was Donny & Marie. The famous Mormon singing Osmond siblings were still in their teens at the time, and were given their own variety show produced by kid-TV mavens, Sid & Marty Krofft. The show eventually morphed from kid-silly to a more adult show, blatantly ripping off The Sonny & Cher Variety Hour--which was a little creepy since D & M were brother and sister, not husband and wife.

Anyway, the show was rather standard-issue for 70s variety. Interchangeable with The Captain & Tenille Show or even The Brady Bunch Variety Hour. And I never missed an episode. Still, I managed to forget this bit, not only parodying Star Wars, but clearly doing so with George Lucas' permission. Guest stars included Red Foxx and Paul Lynde!

NOTE: The first video's sound is terribly out of synch. Still worth a view if you're a Star Wars fan, and never knew this existed. Oh, it's terrible, but what the hell. . .






Posted specifically for friend and contributor, Stupid Monkey Planet.

Blast from the Past: Bobby Sherman & the 5th Dimension?

I found this curiosity while travelling the tubes of the internets, and decided it was worth sharing. Anybody who lived through the 1970s (or ever watched That 70s Show) would have difficulty explaining many things about that garish decade. Ugly cars, ugly clothes, ugly furnishings, carpet and appliances. . .most of it can only be loved with a heavy dose of nostalgia.

And one of those curiosities was the squeaky clean "teen idol." There had been idols before, of course, but they were mostly of the dangerous variety like Elvis, or the foreign kind like the Beatles (or both, like Mick Jagger). But in the early 70s, every teen-aged girl was all moony for the saccharine: Donny Osmond, Michael Jackson, David Cassidy and Bobby Sherman.

Years later, I get Donny Osmond, who even in his 50s is something of a hottie. David Cassidy? No mystery there either. Michael is a little trickier, but remember in the 1970s he was still black. But Bobby Sherman? I can't figure that one out. And this video doesn't help.

Here, white bread Sherman sings with soul superstars, The 5th Dimension. Calling it incongruous would be a kind way to put it. And Bobby? I don't know, maybe it was the hair? Absolutely would never have made it--at least not as a sex symbol--in today's world.

Donny Osmond Acting Un-Mormonlike

Just a few posts ago, I commented that I'd like to lighten the mood around here a little. The political posts are important, and really interest me, but can really be a dark cloud. I want this blog to be a fun place to visit too.

In that spirit, I found this on Kenneth in the (212), one of my favorite blogs. It's a YouTube clip from Jimmy Kimmel's ABC show. It's the perfect medicine to lighten the mood, and falls neatly into my "kid of the 70s" pop culture sweet spot. Try as he might, Donny Osmond will always be "a little bit 70s" more than he's "a little bit rock and roll." And here, Donny gets his ya-yas out. It's pretty cute. Enjoy.

UPDATE: The video was removed, but I replaced it. If it's gone again soon, I'll try to replace it again. If not, sorry guys!