My thoughts on the All in the Family and The Jeffersons episodes that aired live this week.
We all know I am a classic TV junkie. I grew up in front of the TV. I know TV actors and their credits like sports fans memorize their favorite teams and players stats. I do that with actors' credits and their awards.
So as you can probably guess, I was excited to watch Live in Front of a Studio Audience on ABC this past week. What did I think? Loved it! I am hoping we will see more based not he ratings for this one.
I loved the audience reactions. They were loud and not sweetened like today's sitcoms. These days, the three-camera sitcoms are still shot in front of a live studio audience, but then they "fix" or "sweeten" the audience reactions in post production. So they sound muted, to me anyway. Often times, if the audience doesn't laugh where the producers want a laugh, they will add one in. In the Norman Lear days (the 1970s), the audiences were loud and boisterous, especially on his shows. They would applaud and go nuts over some of the lines.
I've read many articles and interviews where younger television viewers don't like the live studio audiences. They call it canned laughter, which it is not. But we've got a whole generation now raised on the single camera comedies like The Office and Modern Family. They don't like the studio audience shows. To me, that's what a sitcom is!
On to the show...Loved Marissa Tomei as Edith. Loved Woody Harrelson as Archie Bunker. They were great, Trust to the characters while bringing their own spin to them. Ellie Kemper and Ike Barinholtz were good to although they didn't have as much to do. And frankly they are a little old to be playing the children of Marsisa Tomei and Woody Harrelson. But I am quibbling here.
Tomei was a hoot as Edith. Loved her high pitched voice and the running around. Harrelson got the vernacular and dialect of Archie down just right. And not importantly, they were not imitating the threat Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor.
Jamie Foxx was hilarious as George Jefferson. I loved how he had the swagger and the mannerisms of George. However, to me, he was doing an impression of Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson as opposed to bringing his own take to the character. He was doing a sketch character. And that makes sense since he got his start on In Living Color. And I wasn't too thrilled with how he broke the fourth wall and pointed out his flubbed line instead of just repeating the line and going on as one does on stage. But that's just me. It was funny to see Woody Harrelson break and turn his back to the audience when that happened. And Marissa Tomei just stayed in character as Edith, you could see she was stifling a laugh but staying as Edith. It does make live TV fun, but again really?
For me, the highlight of the night was the appearance of Marla Gibbs as Florence. I jumped out of my seat and cheered when they opened the door and revealed her. YESSS!!! And double bonus whammy for us classic TV fans, she was reunited with her 227 co-star Jackee!
Oh! And how fabulous was Jennifer Hudson singing The Jeffersons theme song!?
All in all I loved the night and I hope we get some more. That's TV!
Showing posts with label all in the family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label all in the family. Show all posts
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Monday, November 28, 2016
All in the Family Season 8 and all the feels!
Tonight, I finished watching my the Eighth Season of All in the Family. This is the final season with Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers, which in my opinion should have been the final season of All in the Family. The final episode of the season even plays like it could be a series finale.
All in the Family is one of my favorite series of all time. But there is definitely change in tone in the series around the Sixth Season. I believe this is when new show runners took over and this is also the season where Mike and Gloria are pregnant and they move into the Jefferson's house next door. The audience reactions aren't quite as loud and wild as they were in the first five seasons. Still loud but not the same. And there seems to be an increase in the level of slapstick in the series. i.e. Gloria and Archie giving each other the raspberries all the time, Mike and Archie always getting stuck in doorways, Gloria hitting Archie on the head, pulling on his chest hairs. The show still deals with major topics but they seem more universal and less of the time as they were in the early years.
Also in Season Six, the show was moved from its Saturday 8pm time slot because of the FCC's new Family Hour which meant the no shows with adult content could be shown before 9pm. That ruling was overturned due to law suits from producers like Norman Lear. But by then the damage had been done. For Season 7, All in the Family moved to Wednesday where it fell from 1 to 12 in the Nielsen Ratings. Midway through the season it was moved to Saturdays at 9 and then in Season 8 it moved to Sunday nights where it bounced back up to 4 and stayed in that time slot.
Now Season 8. What can I say. This particular season in my opinion is the best of the later seasons. In this season alone, Archie forges Edith's signature to mortgage the house and buy Kelsey's bar (the two-part season opener), they go to Cousin Liz's funeral and discover she was a lesbian and her roommate was her lover and wants the family heirloom tea set (Emmy best writing), the next episode, Edith almost gets raped on her 50th Birthday (Emmy for direction) and also a two-parter. There's a bunch of two-parters this season. Archie opens the bar and gets very little business so he gets hooked on pills (two-parter). Next up, he gets recruited by the local KKK who have targeted Mike to burn a cross on his lawn (even though he has no lawn!) also a two-parter, a nice flashback episode for Mike and Gloria and how they met (clearly a showcase for there soon departing Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers), then another two-parter where Beverly LaSalle is killed as the result of a hate crime and Edith loses her faith in God. Archie's Super Bowl party is held up at gunpoint. Archie and Mike get locked in the storeroom overnight and Archie reveals a great deal about his upbringing. And then the final three episodes leading up to Mike and Gloria leaving for Mike's new job in California. There are a few lighter episodes in there but Boy! A lot happened to this family in the course of six months! I'm glad this wasn't my family. Oy vey! (Sorry Archie)
As for that last episode, I can never sit through it without balling, I just watched it again for the umpteenth time and that last scene where they say their goodbyes...well let's just say I was sniffling and tears were streaming down my cheeks. That last shot of Archie and Edith sitting there in silence staring out as the camera slowly pulls back (what happened to the TV set that's usually in front of their chairs?) and the slow fade out..wow! just, wow!
Season Eight swept the Emmys in 1978 winning in all but one category, Supporting Actress for Sally Struthers. She won the next year for her guest appearance in the Ninth Season. Like I said its the best of the later seasons. Season Nine is a different show. No live studio audience, No Mike or Gloria and instead an adopted seven-year old girl, the daughter of a second cousin of Edith's. Not so great and not a fitting end to a great series.
Saturday nights on CBS were a family ritual in my house growing up. It's comfort food for me, watching all these old TV series and re-living my childhood and teen years.
All in the Family is one of my favorite series of all time. But there is definitely change in tone in the series around the Sixth Season. I believe this is when new show runners took over and this is also the season where Mike and Gloria are pregnant and they move into the Jefferson's house next door. The audience reactions aren't quite as loud and wild as they were in the first five seasons. Still loud but not the same. And there seems to be an increase in the level of slapstick in the series. i.e. Gloria and Archie giving each other the raspberries all the time, Mike and Archie always getting stuck in doorways, Gloria hitting Archie on the head, pulling on his chest hairs. The show still deals with major topics but they seem more universal and less of the time as they were in the early years.
Also in Season Six, the show was moved from its Saturday 8pm time slot because of the FCC's new Family Hour which meant the no shows with adult content could be shown before 9pm. That ruling was overturned due to law suits from producers like Norman Lear. But by then the damage had been done. For Season 7, All in the Family moved to Wednesday where it fell from 1 to 12 in the Nielsen Ratings. Midway through the season it was moved to Saturdays at 9 and then in Season 8 it moved to Sunday nights where it bounced back up to 4 and stayed in that time slot.
Now Season 8. What can I say. This particular season in my opinion is the best of the later seasons. In this season alone, Archie forges Edith's signature to mortgage the house and buy Kelsey's bar (the two-part season opener), they go to Cousin Liz's funeral and discover she was a lesbian and her roommate was her lover and wants the family heirloom tea set (Emmy best writing), the next episode, Edith almost gets raped on her 50th Birthday (Emmy for direction) and also a two-parter. There's a bunch of two-parters this season. Archie opens the bar and gets very little business so he gets hooked on pills (two-parter). Next up, he gets recruited by the local KKK who have targeted Mike to burn a cross on his lawn (even though he has no lawn!) also a two-parter, a nice flashback episode for Mike and Gloria and how they met (clearly a showcase for there soon departing Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers), then another two-parter where Beverly LaSalle is killed as the result of a hate crime and Edith loses her faith in God. Archie's Super Bowl party is held up at gunpoint. Archie and Mike get locked in the storeroom overnight and Archie reveals a great deal about his upbringing. And then the final three episodes leading up to Mike and Gloria leaving for Mike's new job in California. There are a few lighter episodes in there but Boy! A lot happened to this family in the course of six months! I'm glad this wasn't my family. Oy vey! (Sorry Archie)
As for that last episode, I can never sit through it without balling, I just watched it again for the umpteenth time and that last scene where they say their goodbyes...well let's just say I was sniffling and tears were streaming down my cheeks. That last shot of Archie and Edith sitting there in silence staring out as the camera slowly pulls back (what happened to the TV set that's usually in front of their chairs?) and the slow fade out..wow! just, wow!
Season Eight swept the Emmys in 1978 winning in all but one category, Supporting Actress for Sally Struthers. She won the next year for her guest appearance in the Ninth Season. Like I said its the best of the later seasons. Season Nine is a different show. No live studio audience, No Mike or Gloria and instead an adopted seven-year old girl, the daughter of a second cousin of Edith's. Not so great and not a fitting end to a great series.
Saturday nights on CBS were a family ritual in my house growing up. It's comfort food for me, watching all these old TV series and re-living my childhood and teen years.
Friday, June 17, 2016
Classic TV on DVD Review - Maude
My most recent acquisitions Maude Season Four and Newhart Season Five. I'm in the middle of Newhart now. I finished Maude last week. My thoughts on Maude.
It shares a great deal in common with All in the Family for obvious reasons. Maude was spun off of All in the Family (AITF) after Beatrice Arthur made a guest appearance on AITF. The feel is the same, it has the topic of the week and there's lots of shouting and loud audience reactions.
Like Norman Lear's other shows of the 1970s, its very dated. I feel this one is even more dated than AITF. What's really interesting to see is Beatrice Arthur as someone other than Dorothy Zbrornak of The Golden Girls. Let's face it, The Golden Girls has become fully entrenched in our pop culture over the last 20 years. The Golden Girls has become ubiquitous. But in a good way. Maude is not Dorothy, but she sounds just like her. And after Bea Arthur had her face lift in Season Two (in real life and written into the show), she looks a little more like Dorothy than Season One Maude.
But Maude is over the top. She's loud opinionated and completely self-centered. Something Dorothy was not. In Season Three, the comedy started to move away from the controversial topic of the week to get a little more slapstick. More emphasis on Vivian and Arthur and their marriage and the introduction of Mrs. Naugatuck who replaced Esther Rolle as the maid once Florida got her spin off. The comedy is much broader especially where she is concerned. Florida was understated and her sarcasm was subtle. Mrs. Naugatuck is a loud 60-something British maid whose a compulsive liar who clashes with Maude. The stories of her past are outrageous.
What is interesting and I find relevant to today are the episodes dealing with women's rights. Its interesting to see these shows knowing that the conversation is still very much alive today. In one episode, Maude's daughter Carol is passed over for a promotion at her job...because she is a woman. You heard right. Because she's a woman. She is the best person in her department and she's given a raise but they hire a man for the manager job. So he proposes that she come over after hours, and she does much to Maude, the ultra-feminist's dismay. But of course, Carol doesn't do anything. She leaves with her dignity in tact.
In another episode, Walter (Maude's husband) is entertaining a wealthy business man who is going to invest in Walter's appliance store. But he expects a woman in turn. And Walter has a girl in his store who is the office good time girl. When she gets sick, Carol agrees to help Walter out by being attentive to the business man. Maude is outraged that Walter would do such a thing. Carol says she's in control and knows what she's doing and finally Walter sees that he is pimping her out, and tells off the business man.
In yet another, an old high school friend of Maude's who has gone on to become a Gloria Steinem type is visiting for the holidays and she challenges everyone's views on women. And in the season's 3-part opener, Walter leaves Maude when she decides to run for state senate and he refuses to support because he wants a full-time wife.
I feel these stories while somewhat dated in 1970s ideas are still very relevant to today's climate. To this say women are still fighting to be treated equally with men.
Dated? Yes. A great time capsule of 1970s TV? Yes. I think I'll take The Golden Girls over Maude any day.
It shares a great deal in common with All in the Family for obvious reasons. Maude was spun off of All in the Family (AITF) after Beatrice Arthur made a guest appearance on AITF. The feel is the same, it has the topic of the week and there's lots of shouting and loud audience reactions.
Like Norman Lear's other shows of the 1970s, its very dated. I feel this one is even more dated than AITF. What's really interesting to see is Beatrice Arthur as someone other than Dorothy Zbrornak of The Golden Girls. Let's face it, The Golden Girls has become fully entrenched in our pop culture over the last 20 years. The Golden Girls has become ubiquitous. But in a good way. Maude is not Dorothy, but she sounds just like her. And after Bea Arthur had her face lift in Season Two (in real life and written into the show), she looks a little more like Dorothy than Season One Maude.
But Maude is over the top. She's loud opinionated and completely self-centered. Something Dorothy was not. In Season Three, the comedy started to move away from the controversial topic of the week to get a little more slapstick. More emphasis on Vivian and Arthur and their marriage and the introduction of Mrs. Naugatuck who replaced Esther Rolle as the maid once Florida got her spin off. The comedy is much broader especially where she is concerned. Florida was understated and her sarcasm was subtle. Mrs. Naugatuck is a loud 60-something British maid whose a compulsive liar who clashes with Maude. The stories of her past are outrageous.
What is interesting and I find relevant to today are the episodes dealing with women's rights. Its interesting to see these shows knowing that the conversation is still very much alive today. In one episode, Maude's daughter Carol is passed over for a promotion at her job...because she is a woman. You heard right. Because she's a woman. She is the best person in her department and she's given a raise but they hire a man for the manager job. So he proposes that she come over after hours, and she does much to Maude, the ultra-feminist's dismay. But of course, Carol doesn't do anything. She leaves with her dignity in tact.
In another episode, Walter (Maude's husband) is entertaining a wealthy business man who is going to invest in Walter's appliance store. But he expects a woman in turn. And Walter has a girl in his store who is the office good time girl. When she gets sick, Carol agrees to help Walter out by being attentive to the business man. Maude is outraged that Walter would do such a thing. Carol says she's in control and knows what she's doing and finally Walter sees that he is pimping her out, and tells off the business man.
In yet another, an old high school friend of Maude's who has gone on to become a Gloria Steinem type is visiting for the holidays and she challenges everyone's views on women. And in the season's 3-part opener, Walter leaves Maude when she decides to run for state senate and he refuses to support because he wants a full-time wife.
I feel these stories while somewhat dated in 1970s ideas are still very relevant to today's climate. To this say women are still fighting to be treated equally with men.
Dated? Yes. A great time capsule of 1970s TV? Yes. I think I'll take The Golden Girls over Maude any day.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Batman TV Series and newfound respect for TV shows I grew up with
I recently received the 1966 Batman TV series on Blu-Ray from a friend of mine. I started watching it yesterday. I'm about 8 episode sin at this point. Its interesting to see the first appearances of each of the villains. And it also brought many things.
I didn't realize that the first villain to appear was The Riddler played by Frank Gorshin who is so damn good! (Side Bar: He was nominated for an Emmy for this. Did you know that?) I always assumed it was Caesar Romero.
I also assumed the big four villains would be the first four introduced. While Riddler, Penguin and Joker comprise the first three weeks of shows, Catwoman has yet to show up and I'm in week five now. What I found interesting about the first three is that each one of them escapes from prison. No back stories. Just they've been in jail and they've escaped. Gotham Penitentiary is not doing a good job. The warden is too progressive. Its actually in the dialogue. Oh, and the warden displayed by the original Edward Quartermaine form General Hospital, David Lewis.
With Episode Four, we get Mr. Freeze played by George Sanders (who frankly I don't remember. I do remember Otto Preminger, the director, who replaces him later in the series.)If you don't know who George Sanders is, watch All About Eve. He is awesome in that movie. What I found most interesting about this episode is that actually give him a back story. He's out for revenge against Batman because he blames Batman for the accident that turned him into Mr Freeze. What?! Back story for a character in a superhero TV/movie made before the 1980s? Unheard of! I'm serious TV shows prior to the 1980s had no continuity!
Back on course here. The three things I'd like to discuss:
1) The cultural phenomenon and impact of this show. I've explained this to co-workers and other young-uns who are under the age of 40 or so that back in the day when we only had a few channels to watch, a hit TV series made it's stars superstars, rock stars almost. Shows like All in The Family, Dallas, The Cosby Show were not just TV shows they were pop culture zeitgeists. Batman was a HUGE cultural phenomenon. I was only about 4 and half when the TV series debuted. I was not old enough to stay up and watch but I certainly knew about it. We played Batman and Robin during recess. We also played James Bond. It was the sixties.
There is nothing like that now. American Idol perhaps in its early seasons. Friends was probably the last TV series whose stars became major celebrities (and filthy rich to boot).
But back then, we talked about shows around the water cooler the next day. Or on the playground during recess. I remember in 5th 6th grade on Tuesdays we'd be impersonating our favorite bits from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In the night before. Or doing Flip Wilson bits. The Devil Made me do it! In high school, Mondays were all about what we saw on SNL over th weekend, Roseanne Roseannadanna, Jane, you ignorant slut, But Nooooooo!, Cheeseburger cheeseburger, cheeseburger, no coke, pepsi, and so on. Now you know how old I am.
And damn, when JR was left lying on the floor from gun shot wound and we had to wait an entire summer to find out who did it? Big news! (The cover of Time magazine)
Batman merchandise was every where. Most every celebrity in the business wanted to be a guest villain. Some made cameos either as themselves or in character (Colonel Klink from Hogans Heroes, Lurch from The Addams Family, Dick Clark, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, etc...)
Like most cultural phenomenons, it burned out rather quickly. Three seasons and it was done. But the re-runs lived on throughout the 1970s on afternoons when we came home from school.
2) Re-watching TV shows I grew up with as an adult. As a kid I liked Batman. In fact, I could get a little scared of some of the villains, The Joker in particular. He scared me a bit.I knew there was humor in there but I don't think I fully appreciated it until watching it again as an adult.
This show is a comedy...on purpose for those of you don't realize that. It was made as a comedy. Hell, the Batusi is in the pilot episode. Batman walks into a discotheque where Jill St. John is waiting for him. He walks in, The maitre'd asks if he wants a seat. Batman, in full costume, says I want to blend in. I'll just stand at the bar. LMAO! And then he and Jill St. John start dancing and he does the Batusi.
The show is hysterical. Never got that as a kid. As I got older yes. Its fun to re-watch it now after I don't know how many years. It was in fact nominated for Emmys in its first season in the comedy categories. Its interesting to note that it ran simultaneously with Get Smart, another sitcom that spoofs the spy genre and that I also love and won on DVD.
This brings to mind other shows I watched as a kid but didn't fully appreciate until adulthood. Namely, the Norman Lear shows. My entire family sat down and watched the CBS Saturday night lineup in the 1970s. All in the Family, whatever they put on at 8:30 cause it changed very season one year it was MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett.
What 10 year old really gets all the talk about abortions, and miscarriages and the IRA and racism and rape and cancer and "the change" that was discussed on All in the Family. All I knew was it was funny because the studio audience was loud. really loud. And the Mary Tyler Moore show. Love the characters. But it wasn't until re-watching as an adult that I truly appreciated how well written, directed and acted that show was. There's a reason The Mary Tyler Moore Show is the gold standard by which all sitcoms since are measured up to. It holds up. The scripts are beautifully written. Callbacks to earlier jokes in earlier scenes. Key information given at the beginning of the scene that are key to later developments. The Veal Prince Orloff episode is a prime example of what I'm talking about. And its got a pre-Fonzie Henry Winkler as Rhoda's date to boot!
Batman was re-run after school growing up for us kids to watch. And while there are certainly things there for kids to enjoy, it was really written for the adults. And it can be appreciated on a whole other level. Besides, Adam West is pretty damn funny. He knows it. He created that character very carefully. And while it may have defined his career, he seems to have always been in on the joke. Witness, his recurring role on Family Guy. I also saw him along with Burt Ward and Julie Newmar on a panel at Comic Con two years ago and he has still got it. Julie Newmar not so much. He made a lot of jokes at her expense that she was a little slow to pick up on. Hilarious!
3) How shows develop after the first couple of episodes. One thing I enjoy about watching old TV shows over again in their entirety from the start is to see how they develop. They don't necessarily start out as what they end up being.
Some shows make a change in characters or direction after one season (Taxi - remember Randall Carver? or Newhart - remember Stephanie Holmes as Leslie or how about Kirk who at least made it through season 2 before being written out). And whatever happened to all the girls from the first season of The Facts of Life? Dallas originally focused on Bobby and Pam. It was supposed to be a modern re-telling of Romeo and Juliet with Juliet marrying into Romeo's family. But the show quickly re-focused on JR.
The Golden Girls: They had a house boy in the pilot episode. Rose never mentions her hometown in the first season. St. Olaf gets mentioned for the first time in Season Two and once the name is attached, the stories become more outrageous.
Delta Burke's character on Designing Women, while established early on as a multi-marrying man-eating former beauty queen from the get go, she doesn't become quite so outspoken and outrageous in her viewpoints until around Season Two.
Green Acres isn't initially so absurdist. Its a gradual progression. I love when they acknowledge the writing and directing credits on the screen in the opening scenes. What are those words floating in the air like that? Or Eb doing chores outside while lip synching to the theme song!
Karen on Will & Grace is a little different in the first season than who she becomes. The shrill voice isn't quite so shrill in the early episodes.
Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show isn't that big a buffoon in the first season.
Likewise, Batman, I'm about 8 shows in and there have been no cameos yet when they're climbing up the walls of buildings. Robin's Holy (fill in the blank) exclamations aren't in full use yet. And I;'m looking forward to seeing them all again.
BTW: The Blu-Ray is amazing! The show is so colorful and the Blu-Ray brings it all out.
I didn't realize that the first villain to appear was The Riddler played by Frank Gorshin who is so damn good! (Side Bar: He was nominated for an Emmy for this. Did you know that?) I always assumed it was Caesar Romero.
I also assumed the big four villains would be the first four introduced. While Riddler, Penguin and Joker comprise the first three weeks of shows, Catwoman has yet to show up and I'm in week five now. What I found interesting about the first three is that each one of them escapes from prison. No back stories. Just they've been in jail and they've escaped. Gotham Penitentiary is not doing a good job. The warden is too progressive. Its actually in the dialogue. Oh, and the warden displayed by the original Edward Quartermaine form General Hospital, David Lewis.
With Episode Four, we get Mr. Freeze played by George Sanders (who frankly I don't remember. I do remember Otto Preminger, the director, who replaces him later in the series.)If you don't know who George Sanders is, watch All About Eve. He is awesome in that movie. What I found most interesting about this episode is that actually give him a back story. He's out for revenge against Batman because he blames Batman for the accident that turned him into Mr Freeze. What?! Back story for a character in a superhero TV/movie made before the 1980s? Unheard of! I'm serious TV shows prior to the 1980s had no continuity!
Back on course here. The three things I'd like to discuss:
1) The cultural phenomenon and impact of this show. I've explained this to co-workers and other young-uns who are under the age of 40 or so that back in the day when we only had a few channels to watch, a hit TV series made it's stars superstars, rock stars almost. Shows like All in The Family, Dallas, The Cosby Show were not just TV shows they were pop culture zeitgeists. Batman was a HUGE cultural phenomenon. I was only about 4 and half when the TV series debuted. I was not old enough to stay up and watch but I certainly knew about it. We played Batman and Robin during recess. We also played James Bond. It was the sixties.
There is nothing like that now. American Idol perhaps in its early seasons. Friends was probably the last TV series whose stars became major celebrities (and filthy rich to boot).
But back then, we talked about shows around the water cooler the next day. Or on the playground during recess. I remember in 5th 6th grade on Tuesdays we'd be impersonating our favorite bits from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In the night before. Or doing Flip Wilson bits. The Devil Made me do it! In high school, Mondays were all about what we saw on SNL over th weekend, Roseanne Roseannadanna, Jane, you ignorant slut, But Nooooooo!, Cheeseburger cheeseburger, cheeseburger, no coke, pepsi, and so on. Now you know how old I am.
And damn, when JR was left lying on the floor from gun shot wound and we had to wait an entire summer to find out who did it? Big news! (The cover of Time magazine)
Batman merchandise was every where. Most every celebrity in the business wanted to be a guest villain. Some made cameos either as themselves or in character (Colonel Klink from Hogans Heroes, Lurch from The Addams Family, Dick Clark, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, etc...)
Like most cultural phenomenons, it burned out rather quickly. Three seasons and it was done. But the re-runs lived on throughout the 1970s on afternoons when we came home from school.
2) Re-watching TV shows I grew up with as an adult. As a kid I liked Batman. In fact, I could get a little scared of some of the villains, The Joker in particular. He scared me a bit.I knew there was humor in there but I don't think I fully appreciated it until watching it again as an adult.
This show is a comedy...on purpose for those of you don't realize that. It was made as a comedy. Hell, the Batusi is in the pilot episode. Batman walks into a discotheque where Jill St. John is waiting for him. He walks in, The maitre'd asks if he wants a seat. Batman, in full costume, says I want to blend in. I'll just stand at the bar. LMAO! And then he and Jill St. John start dancing and he does the Batusi.
The show is hysterical. Never got that as a kid. As I got older yes. Its fun to re-watch it now after I don't know how many years. It was in fact nominated for Emmys in its first season in the comedy categories. Its interesting to note that it ran simultaneously with Get Smart, another sitcom that spoofs the spy genre and that I also love and won on DVD.
This brings to mind other shows I watched as a kid but didn't fully appreciate until adulthood. Namely, the Norman Lear shows. My entire family sat down and watched the CBS Saturday night lineup in the 1970s. All in the Family, whatever they put on at 8:30 cause it changed very season one year it was MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett.
What 10 year old really gets all the talk about abortions, and miscarriages and the IRA and racism and rape and cancer and "the change" that was discussed on All in the Family. All I knew was it was funny because the studio audience was loud. really loud. And the Mary Tyler Moore show. Love the characters. But it wasn't until re-watching as an adult that I truly appreciated how well written, directed and acted that show was. There's a reason The Mary Tyler Moore Show is the gold standard by which all sitcoms since are measured up to. It holds up. The scripts are beautifully written. Callbacks to earlier jokes in earlier scenes. Key information given at the beginning of the scene that are key to later developments. The Veal Prince Orloff episode is a prime example of what I'm talking about. And its got a pre-Fonzie Henry Winkler as Rhoda's date to boot!
Batman was re-run after school growing up for us kids to watch. And while there are certainly things there for kids to enjoy, it was really written for the adults. And it can be appreciated on a whole other level. Besides, Adam West is pretty damn funny. He knows it. He created that character very carefully. And while it may have defined his career, he seems to have always been in on the joke. Witness, his recurring role on Family Guy. I also saw him along with Burt Ward and Julie Newmar on a panel at Comic Con two years ago and he has still got it. Julie Newmar not so much. He made a lot of jokes at her expense that she was a little slow to pick up on. Hilarious!
3) How shows develop after the first couple of episodes. One thing I enjoy about watching old TV shows over again in their entirety from the start is to see how they develop. They don't necessarily start out as what they end up being.
Some shows make a change in characters or direction after one season (Taxi - remember Randall Carver? or Newhart - remember Stephanie Holmes as Leslie or how about Kirk who at least made it through season 2 before being written out). And whatever happened to all the girls from the first season of The Facts of Life? Dallas originally focused on Bobby and Pam. It was supposed to be a modern re-telling of Romeo and Juliet with Juliet marrying into Romeo's family. But the show quickly re-focused on JR.
The Golden Girls: They had a house boy in the pilot episode. Rose never mentions her hometown in the first season. St. Olaf gets mentioned for the first time in Season Two and once the name is attached, the stories become more outrageous.
Delta Burke's character on Designing Women, while established early on as a multi-marrying man-eating former beauty queen from the get go, she doesn't become quite so outspoken and outrageous in her viewpoints until around Season Two.
Green Acres isn't initially so absurdist. Its a gradual progression. I love when they acknowledge the writing and directing credits on the screen in the opening scenes. What are those words floating in the air like that? Or Eb doing chores outside while lip synching to the theme song!
Karen on Will & Grace is a little different in the first season than who she becomes. The shrill voice isn't quite so shrill in the early episodes.
Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show isn't that big a buffoon in the first season.
Likewise, Batman, I'm about 8 shows in and there have been no cameos yet when they're climbing up the walls of buildings. Robin's Holy (fill in the blank) exclamations aren't in full use yet. And I;'m looking forward to seeing them all again.
BTW: The Blu-Ray is amazing! The show is so colorful and the Blu-Ray brings it all out.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
My Not So Secret Love Continued
Yesterday, I told you about my love for television growing up. Today, I give some details about how active my imagination was. Some of this is embarrassing so please kind. I know was a little weirdo.
When I was a kid I fantasized that Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore might be my real parents. I fantasized about being discovered by no less than Lucille Ball. She would have me a guest star on her show and from that I would get my own Monday night sitcom on CBS...The Richard Van Slyke Show. I would have annual specials too so I had an opportunity to sing and dance of course.
In the Fifth grade, my friends Bob Pohl and Nick Mangus would play The Odd Couple during recess. Bob was Oscar, Nick was Felix and I was Murray the Cop. Murray the Cop. Really? I fancied myself the star. Instead I'm the fat guy with the big nose? Great!
As I entered later high and into college, my favorite show was Guiding Light. This happened when it expanded from a half hour to an hour and pushed my All in the Family reruns back a half hour. So when I got home from school at 2:30 Guiding Light was just tarting. So I watched and it quickly became my favorite show on TV. I loved it! Rita and Ed. Holly and Roger. Alan and Elizabeth and Justin and Jackie and Mike Bauer of the core Bauer family. Roger raping Holly. Holly shooting Roger and Roger "dying". The failed kidnap attempt of Christine leading Roger in full clown makeup chasing Holly though a carnival hall of mirrors while Enough is Enough played in the background? Awesome! The introduction of the younger characters, Nola and Kelly an Morgan. The episode that opened with 15 minutes of Kelly confronting Nola about al her lies that had been building for about a year and a half? Brilliant!
Late nights in my college years, CBN (now known as ABC Family) ran reruns of 1950s sitcoms and discovered Burns and Allen, My Little Margie, Private Secretary, I Married Joan. Then Nick at Nite went on the air and boom! More 1950s 1960s shows.
Now, TVLand and Nick at Nite shows are from the 1990s and even more recent. And we have Retrotv Antenna TV and ME TV. But they are analog channels and without cable, who can get them? Plus they air the same old shows.
So now I collect DVD sets. A lot of DVD sets. I have the complete series of Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Newhart, Family Affair, Hazel, That Girl, Get Smart, Green Acres, All in the Family, Rhoda, WKRP, News Radio, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Odd Couple, Soap, Will & Grace and selected seasons of other series.
Yeah, I think I may have problem!
When I was a kid I fantasized that Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore might be my real parents. I fantasized about being discovered by no less than Lucille Ball. She would have me a guest star on her show and from that I would get my own Monday night sitcom on CBS...The Richard Van Slyke Show. I would have annual specials too so I had an opportunity to sing and dance of course.
In the Fifth grade, my friends Bob Pohl and Nick Mangus would play The Odd Couple during recess. Bob was Oscar, Nick was Felix and I was Murray the Cop. Murray the Cop. Really? I fancied myself the star. Instead I'm the fat guy with the big nose? Great!
As I entered later high and into college, my favorite show was Guiding Light. This happened when it expanded from a half hour to an hour and pushed my All in the Family reruns back a half hour. So when I got home from school at 2:30 Guiding Light was just tarting. So I watched and it quickly became my favorite show on TV. I loved it! Rita and Ed. Holly and Roger. Alan and Elizabeth and Justin and Jackie and Mike Bauer of the core Bauer family. Roger raping Holly. Holly shooting Roger and Roger "dying". The failed kidnap attempt of Christine leading Roger in full clown makeup chasing Holly though a carnival hall of mirrors while Enough is Enough played in the background? Awesome! The introduction of the younger characters, Nola and Kelly an Morgan. The episode that opened with 15 minutes of Kelly confronting Nola about al her lies that had been building for about a year and a half? Brilliant!
Late nights in my college years, CBN (now known as ABC Family) ran reruns of 1950s sitcoms and discovered Burns and Allen, My Little Margie, Private Secretary, I Married Joan. Then Nick at Nite went on the air and boom! More 1950s 1960s shows.
Now, TVLand and Nick at Nite shows are from the 1990s and even more recent. And we have Retrotv Antenna TV and ME TV. But they are analog channels and without cable, who can get them? Plus they air the same old shows.
So now I collect DVD sets. A lot of DVD sets. I have the complete series of Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Newhart, Family Affair, Hazel, That Girl, Get Smart, Green Acres, All in the Family, Rhoda, WKRP, News Radio, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Odd Couple, Soap, Will & Grace and selected seasons of other series.
Yeah, I think I may have problem!
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