Throwback: No One's Ready

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I recently re-watched the Season 3, Episode 2 episode of Friends, "The One Where No One's Ready." The first time I saw it, I thought it was pretty funny. But it's one of those reruns that I think just gets better and better each time I see it. I recognized it once before as one of my favorite Friends episodes, but today I wanted to showcase it for a different reason.

For those who don't remember the episode by the title, Ross is having a special function that night and he is trying as hard as he can to get everyone ready. Phoebe was ready, but has a mishap requiring a change. Chandler and joey avoid getting dressed for a while. Rachel can't make up her mind on what to wear, only to eventually get frustrated and declare that she's not going at all. Monica wasn't doing badly until she listens to a message from Richard on her answering machine, but that throws everything off.

Now, for the fun part. Did you realize that the episode takes place entirely in Monica and Rachel's apartment? I can think of others that are limited to Monica/Rachel's place and Chandler/Joey's place, or their apartments and the coffee shop, but this one is solely in one apartment. This is a characteristic of "bottleneck episodes," designed to be lower budget.

And, the entire 22 minutes of the show are pretty much real-time (Ross talks about the time remaining throughout the episode), which is not a frequent occurrence on any sitcom to my knowledge.

Another anomaly: there are no guest stars, as the cast is just the core six (though you do hear Richard and Michelle's voices).

This combination of rarely-utilized techniques gives the show a different feel, and I think it worked out really well for them. "The One Where No One's Ready" was not the first show to do something like this, but it's still pretty infrequent. Watch the episode again, and see what you think about the no-guests, real-time, one-location idea. (If you don't want to stream it, you can buy the ep for $1.99 on Amazon.)

Burn Notice - Company Man (S05E01)

by Jonathan Bredemeyer

This new season of Burn Notice starts with advice from Michael and the scenes from the last season, recapping the trials and tribulations to get him here: walking into a Canadian security office as a CIA Civilian Security Asset. Michael is now helping a CIA boss break into a server room with an RFID lock. "Any key can be copied, even a digital one." Michael and his CIA buddies detain and drug the guy stealing data at a computer terminal, and load him into a surveillance van with his [apparently] new CIA boss inside.

Back in Miami, Fiona is puzzled as to why she and Michael were cut off after they had been dealing with this "unauthorized quasi-governmental agency" for years and why Michael needs a CIA 'babysitter.' He explains the situation and then heads over to his Mom's place.  Sam's there [a bit thinner than last season]. Michael continues to stonewall people as to how the operations are going. Sam has a surprise in the garage, and, to Michael's great surprise, Jesse shows up for the unveiling. Jesse quit the agency and took a job with a private security firm. On the side, he got Michael's Charger back, which was a 'huge pain in the @$$.'  Before the unwrapping, Michael gets a call on the 'batphone' calling him back for the interrogation of the guy he just kidnapped.

Michael returs to DC to interview Hector and get him to give up the last guy they're looking to bring in. "Just be the same unstoppable son of a bitch I recruited all those years ago."  Michael's boss butters him up, then puts him in the room with Hector...  He disables the backup observation camera in the thermostat, then sits down to empathize with him to get him to bet on Michael to protect his family. Michael's boss isn't happy about the camera being disabled, but he walks out of the room with Kessler's (the last remaining member of the organization) address in Caracas, VZ. Michael says they'll need a team... and he wants to bring his own people. His boss very begrudgingly agrees to allow Sam and Fi to come along.

The CIA screws with Michael & Co on the way there by sending their plane through a mess of countries, and then by putting all three of them in the same room. Max and Michael then leave Sam and Fi to the consolation of the minibar and head to go over mission details. The details involve sending Michael in undercover via the leader of a military checkpoint to offer him a bride to look the other way. The trio head off into the jungle to the checkpoint. Sam and Fi spend most of the time making fun of Max's secretive CIA ways vs. their simple but effective methods.

Michael's tip on working under a cover ID: "It's all about the little things... you have to know... every detail on every document... the entire history on the person you're pretending to be." Sam and Fi perform the charade of an American couple with a bad rental car. Michael sneaks in and pretends to be a Russian on the hunt for Kessler. He pitches the guy and then leaves to meet up later.

The guy shows up to the meeting having checked up on Michael's ID and pulls a gun on him. Max immediately begins to pull him out with an extraction team, but Sam and Fi convince him not to... Michael starts 'shotgunning' (throwing a bunch of information at someone and judging if it rings a bell by watching their facial expressions) based on information fed to him by Max and Sam. It works... barely.

Back at their 'headquarters,' Michael and Max brief Sam, Fi, and CIA friends on the plan to separate and kidnap Kessler at the checkpoint. Sam and Fi corner Michael afterward and complain about them getting sidelined for the remainder of the operation. Michael explains that the CIA uses separate teams for separate objectives. Kessler (Michael's last chance for answers) must have saw them coming and interrupts Michael's explanation on why separate teams are great by knocking out all surveillance, leaving the 'command team' blind and useless. Fi and Sam have sneaked in near the checkpoint and report that Kessler picked up on the radio frequencies and jammed everything. Max and Michael take off after Kessler to try to salvage things. Max displays his pansiness by complaining about the lack of... everything.

They blow into Kessler's compound, out-armed and out-manned. "How are you still alive?" "That's a good question. I eat a lot of yogurt..."

Michael shoots everyone outside, and then he and Max head inside. After some light exchange of fire, Kessler locks himself in a safe room. Michael asks Fi to buy them some time by slowing the authorities up at a bridge while Michael and Max try to break into the safe using grenades. Michael pulls apart 3 grenades and makes a bomb to lower into the room. Sam and Fi blow up a car and telephone poll to block the road. [Way to enact Rule #1 50 minutes into the episode...] Michael and Max get into the room only to find that Kessler shot himself. Michael's a bit more than pissed, but Max talks him out and gets him moving. Michael rigs up a machine gun onto a fan to provide a distraction while he and Max escape out the back...

Back in Miami, Max sounds like a normal client thanking the team for their unofficial help. Sam tried to toast to the end of everything, but Michael is distracted. He heads back to his Mom's place to think over the not-yet-unveiled Charger. His Mom shows up and she convinces him that closure is overrated. They actually share a laugh, and then he.... DOESN'T reveal the car... [very disappointing]

[So this is basically a disappointing season opener. Lots of barely relevant advice from Michael with little bomb-building, only a few seconds of Miami scenery, and minimal antics from Sam and Fi start this season out with a whimper... Hopefully, things get back on an explosive track soon...]

15 Fun Facts from Melissa Joan Hart

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

If you have been reading for around a year (or more!), you may remember that I was pretty excited to see the start of Melissa & Joey on ABCFamily. I had the opportunity to talk with both Melissa Joan Hart (here and here) and Joey Lawrence (here and here) just a few weeks after the show premiered. This really got me psyched about the show, and as I kept reviewing the episodes, I began to fear that it might not be renewed. I really hoped that it would, and the ratings seemed like they'd make it, but I was still a little concerned, since I have a tendency to fall for shows that end up getting canceled (for instance, I was crushed by Better With You's cancellation this year and Miami Medical's cancellation last year). but, Melissa & Joey is still doing great and will be back in action starting tonight!

Last week I had the opportunity to have another Q&A session with Melissa Joan Hart (special thanks to ABCFamily and New Media Strategies), and on Sunday I wrote about the process of filming an episode of Melissa & Joey. Today, I'd like to share some of the fascinating things I learned about her and the show. First, some personal information and what else she's up to, then some tidbits directly about the show!

- Right now, Melissa Joan Hart is pitching a network show, a cable show, and an internet show (which will be like a talk show with her siblings).

- She was boy-crazy before she got married. She likes to go all out on things, like having her face painted and getting pom-poms to go to a football game. She’s a big planner. She’s a big Friends fan.

- Because Melissa Joan Hart really grew up on-set, there are a bunch of things that she never really learned for herself, like how to dress, how to do her own hair and makeup, and how to cook.

- She has been working with Kellogg’s Share Your Breakfast program. One in four children in the US wakes up hungry.

- Her favorite rides at Walt Disney World/Disneyland are Space Mountain and Toy Story, though she’s anxious for the Cars ride to open at Disneyland as well.

- You may already know that Melissa Joan Hart owns SweetHarts, a sweets shop. Her favorite menu item is red velvet cookies. Depending on her mood, she also likes the lemon drip gelato.

- Her company, Hartbreak Films, did an independent film last year called Nine Dead, where you can really see her in a psychological thriller-type of role. When filming Nine Dead, she’s in one outfit most of the time and the actors are handcuffed to a pole, so it was simple to rehearse. This allowed her to have her children around, especially as she was breastfeeding her second son at the time.

- She takes her position as a role model into account when she makes decisions. If it’s not something she’d do in real life (like smoke a cigarette), then why should she do it on-screen? At the same time, she wants a good long career, so she does more dramatic, twisted things sometimes.

- One of my questions for Melissa Joan Hart (which came from a suggestion on our facebook page) regarded what advice she’d give teen stars on Nickelodeon today that she wished that she had when she played Clarissa. She feels that things have changed so dramatically that she couldn’t give any advice from what she learned. But, some advice that she’s giving to Nick, who plays Ryder on Melissa & Joey, is that he needs to take control of his education and figure out a good way to spend time with his family when he gets a chance. (Melissa Joan Hart filmed Clarissa Explains it All in Orlando while her family lived in NY. Similarly, Nick's family is in Seattle while he's in LA.) She’s encouraged Nick to enroll in school in California particularly so he can keep up with things like art, music, and gym, which are subjects you don’t get when you’re being tutored instead.

- As much as Sabrina, the Teenage Witch was to be a family show, Melissa & Joey is more for folks in their 30s and high school/college-age kids. They don’t have the largest teen fan base at the moment, but she believes there could be one.

- There will be an upcoming reference to Joey’s Blossom role. Melissa Joan Hart said “one word out of Joey’s mouth” will remind everyone of Blossom, so I’m willing to bet it’s “whoa!”

- Melissa Joan Hart wanted the character of Mel to be “something fun and cool” and prove that she didn’t have to be the straight man in order to be the lead of a show. The character is to be silly and wacky, a bit like Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character on The New Adventures of Old Christine.

- When Joe’s character is cooking on the show, Joey Lawrence works out full meals. He spends a lot of time with the prop people on the food.

- To play a guardian with no parental background, Melissa Joan Hart often take everything they know as parents and just sort of do the opposite. Similarly, they change things with the writers when things sound too parental.

- She’d love to have Danny DeVito, Michael Strahan, Kellie Martin, Soleil Moon Frye, and Bill Murray guest star. She’s promised a role to Curtis Granderson (a Yankee) already. Leslie Grossman is already set to be in an upcoming episode. Joey’s brothers are going to be on the show soon. One will play Joe’s brother, and the other will play one of Ryder’s teachers.

I think it all sounds great, and I've already added Nine Dead to my Netflix queue. And, as someone who had red velvet cake at her wedding, I've also put "visit SweetHarts" near the top of my list for things to do when I'm in LA! (the store is in Sherman Oaks if you're nearby!)

Tune in to Melissa & Joey at 8pm Eastern / 7pm Central as it kicks off the ABCFamily New Comedy Wednesday!

Charlie Harper to Die; Fall Premiere Dates; Graphic Novels

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

If you watch a lot of shows on Hulu, be warned: FOX shows in particular will have more ads. but, they are also looking at having the viewings seen through the website on the first three days after the initial airing counted in the ratings.

Speaking of FOX, they announced their Fall premiere dates. ABC did, too.

Charlie Sheen's character, Charlie Harper, is going to be written off of Two and a Half Men by dying. Perhaps Ashton Kutcher's new character on the show will buy Charlie's old house? Plus, Charlie Sheen has finalized a deal with Lionsgate for a new television series. It'll be even racier than Two and a Half Men. Ten episode start with an option for 90 more.

Discovery has ordered a documentary special on SEAL Team Six, the elite military unit credited with killing Osama bin Laden. It will air July 10th. [EW]

On How I Met Your Mother, the actor playing Marshall's boss has changed to Martin Short.

The Voice is going to be on tour this summer.

Sam Jones III will be going to prison for a year for dealing drugs. 10,000 oxycodone pills, to be exact.

Lisa Edelstein will appear on several episodes of The Good Wife.

After the fifth season, Jersey Shore is going to feature a new cast.

There's going to be an interactive graphic novel to bridge the storylines between seasons 4 and 5 of Burn Notice. Nickelodeon's Big Time Rush will be transformed into a graphic novel as well.

Raven-Symone will be live-tweeting during the premiere of State of Georgia tomorrow night. Join the conversation with @ABCFGeorgia, @MissRavenSymone, and the writer/creator @JenniferWeiner. Tweet questions with #GeorgiaChat.

ThunderCats will run on Friday nights on Cartoon Network, starting on July 29th. To get psyched, watch Boomerang on July 16th and 17th (and everyday at 5pm starting the 18th), and Cartoon Network on the weekend of July 23rd for classic episodes! They'll also have a ComicCon panel in room 6A at 3:30pm on Friday the 22nd, which will include a screening of the premiere.

And, in not-exactly-television-news, it seems that MGM will be doing a reboot of War Games. Plus, Will Smith's daughter may be doing a movie remake of Annie. And, looks like Toy Story 4 is underway.

Deal or No Deal

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Now this is a game that I really thought was going to be better than it is. Maybe I got too excited at the idea before it actually launched. Maybe I just have such a different mindset as to how I would play that I don't enjoy watching others play. Maybe the sheer slowness of the game just bothers me. There are a lot of different explanations as to why I'm not this show's biggest fan, but its popularity still makes it deserving of a game show spotlight!

Brief history: The show premiered just before Christmas in 2005. It was based on the Australian game show of the same name, though it has been argues that the game began earlier in Europe. In 1950s New Zealand that was a radio show that had a similar premise. It was called "It's in the Bag." There have also been several decision-making games, like Let's Make a Deal and Win Ben Stein's Money. Howie Mandel is the host on the American version, though he has guested on the Canadian English version. The show drew a lot of attention from different scholars, from mathematicians and statisticians to those who study how humans make decisions. However, the main run ended in 2009, and the syndicated version ran only 2008-2010. You can catch reruns on GSN currently. The show is seen around the world in more than 60 countries, from Albania and Armenia to Vietnam and Zimbabwe. It has also spawned several adaptations, including an arcade version where the player goes for tickets instead of money, versions for the major consoles in the US, and some handheld games outside of the US. There are also many states that have offered a lottery scratch-off based on this game. The great thing about those was that, if you didn't win, you could still use the ticket to try and get onto the game show.

The game: A single participant plays, and they see 26 briefcases. Each briefcase contains a different amount of cash, from $0.01 to $1,000,000 (later increased to $1.5M and then #2M). One briefcase is set aside. The contestant then goes through the process of choosing briefcases, find out what's in them, and realizing what could possibly be left. Throughout that process, the Banker calls to offer different Deals, where the contestant can take $x and walk away. X is based on the amounts left on the board. The player has to decide if they'll take the deal, or if there will be no deal, and keep opening briefcases. Every once in a while, the Banker would offer a prize instead of (or in addition to) a specific dollar amount, from cars to trips to a lifetime supply of gum. Overall, you're hoping that the case you kept for yourself at the beginning has a lot of money in it, and by opening the others, you can see the odds of getting a lot or not.

Notable changes to the way the game is played: The United States has a "Million Dollar Mission" variation that was introduced in 1997. If nobody wins $1M, Howie Mandel adds an extra case to the next person's collection, with another $1,000,000 inside. This variation happened four times, and lasted 7, 13, 2, and 8 games, respectively. From May-June 2008 there was also another version that aired, where a contestant would start the game by grabbing a bouncing ball from a chamber, and the number on the ball (2-13) indicated how many of the briefcases in the game would contain $1,000,000. Five contestants played using this method, but none were able to actually win $1M. Oh, and syndicated episodes only had 22 cases, with the top prize being $500,000. 

Special contestants: There were themed games here and there. For instance, a player was a garbage man, so the briefcases were switched to garbage cans for his episode. Or the cases were turned to trays for Thanksgiving. The models standing with each case were sometimes firemen or even featured the contestant's children. Plus, there were sometimes prizes standing in for certain dollar amounts (like a pie instead of $10, or a Ford F-250 truck instead of $50,000). No celebrities really played the game, though some made appearances because a fan was playing. And, a few fun facts: Someone has walked away with $0.01 before. The bank has made offers to from $2.00 to $407,000.

Favorite Rounds: It's not really a "favorite rounds" type of game. I guess you could say that I like the contestant picking cases better than I like the banker calling in deals, but otherwise it's a bit difficult to discriminate on this show. But, I reiterate that my main gripe about this show is that it's so slow. 

My take: This is the kind of game show that I would probably be bad at. I have a difficult time stopping while I'm ahead. Plus, I get nervous when games are purely luck or statistics, because there is so much room for error. I think I'd pass on being on this one to someone who would enjoy it more.

Do you ever watch Deal or No Deal? Would you want to be on the show if it was still running? What strategies would you use?

Random Question: Do You Know How Melissa & Joey Films?

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Did you realize that Melissa & Joey is back in action starting this Wednesday? They're going to be the first show in the ABCFamily New Comedy Wednesday, at 8pm Eastern, 7pm Central. In preparation for the show's second season, I wanted to share the basics about how Melissa & Joey films, which I heard about directly from Melissa Joan Hart last week. Stay tuned Wednesday for a second post about things I learned from her regarding not just Melissa & Joey but also her other projects and a bit about her personal life as well!

“As with most sitcoms, we work a five-day week. We do a five-day episode. We start on Mondays with a table read where we all get together and read it with the network and everybody sitting there so they can all hear it out loud. Then the writers will go and rewrite it while we go and rehearse and we’ll do our wardrobe fittings usually that day so we can figure out what we’re going to wear for the week.

Then Tuesdays we come in and we rehearse the new script. We’ll rehearse, rehearse, rehearse and we’ll put the show on. We’ll do the whole show once through, called the run-though for the producers. The writers and producers will come down and watch a run-through and then they’ll go back and that night they’ll work on their changes.

Wednesday, we’ll do the exact same thing where we work the new script through all the way. Then we put on a network run-through where the network comes and listens to it and they see it. Then they make their notes on it and the writers go away again and rewrite it.

Thursday, we come in and we block the whole show for the cameras. We basically go through the whole show scene-by-scene so the cameras can figure out where they go, where we go. We put tape on the floor and literally mark every piece of blocking we have and the cameras do the same. Then we get in hair and makeup and shoot a few scenes that the audience needs to see for the next day. They’re usually on swing sets, so they’re somewhere where the audience can’t see them or they’re big costume changes or something like that, so we can knock those out of the way.

Then Friday we come in again and do the camera blocking in the morning and then get ready for the live show. We eat dinner all together at 3pm, 4pm we’re in hair and makeup doing the speed-through of the script with the cast while they’re getting their hair and makeup touched up. Then 5pm we go live on the show and we usually wrap by 9pm.”

I didn't really know how standard of a schedule this is, but it appears that it is a great schedule, at least for Melissa Joan Hart. She gave a little more detail about some of the interesting parts about shooting the show as well.

"We’re not shooting until 11 or 12 or 2am like some episodics, and we’re not doing 9-day weeks. Sabrina the Teenage Witch worked 12-15 hours every day, since it was a single camera and no audience. With an audience, the pressure is on, but the schedule is nice all week where you’re hanging out in a t-shirt and jeans."

Mondays they really only work about three hours. Tuesday is about five, and it gets longer every day. Fridays end up being 12-hour days, but “that’s not bad at all in this business.” Thursday night you "memorize the crap out of the script" for 2-3 hours and then the next day there might be changes. They might do one take for the audience the way it’s written and there will need to be changes in 3, 4, 5 lines in a scene, so they do it again with those changes. There’s a balance to keeping your brain locked down but at the same time leaving space for “alts” which are alterations that happen. Then they have several different options to run. For instance, in an episode last fall, Mel spits wine across the room in a take they used for a preview for that episode, but in the actual episode they used a take where she just choked a little on the wine.

I don't know about you, but I found this all very fascinating! I've never seen a live show taped (I saw a podcast taped once, if that counts), so it was neat to hear about how that really affects how it all works!

Wipeout Back; Gosselins Give Back; 16 and Pregnant Updates

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: Cake Boss, Kate Plus Eight, 19 Kids and Counting, 16 and Pregnant, and Wipeout.

Falling Skies & Happily Divorced Premiere; Futurama Returns...

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & [Commentaries] for "scripted" shows this week include: Falling Skies, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Switched at Birth, Hot in Cleveland, Happily Divorced, and Futurama.

Throwback: Disney Channel Original Movies

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

For a while when I was a teenager, Disney used to really push their newest television movie. It seemed like everyone was talking about what the latest and greatest thing was going to be. So, today's throwback is here to serve as a reminder of some of those great for-tv times.

Disney doing movies made to premiere on television was not a new concept when I found them in the late 90s. Actually, Hocus Pocus was a Disney Channel Original in the summer of 1993! It was kinda easy to tell if it was a Disney original, since it would run ALL THE TIME and you'd never heard of it anywhere else. That's where I first saw Katherine Heigl, actually... she was in Wish Upon a Star in 1996. Her dress at the end of that movie is one of my favorites ever!

In 1998, Brink! was a popular Disney Channel Original. It was about four skaters and their ongoing issues with some paid skaters. Being a skater myself, I loved the movie. It's still one of my top ten favorites. In 1999, Zenon, Girl of the 21st Century came out, quickly followed by The Thirteenth Year, Smart House, and Johnny Tsunami. Horse Sense was also from that year, which really capitalized on the popularity of the Lawrence brothers.

2000 followed with other memorable movies like The Color of Friendship, Alley Cats Strike, Quints, Phantom of the Megaplex, and The Ultimate Christmas Present. Actually, 2000 may be considered the peak of popularity for those Disney Originals... it was the only year that they cranked out a new one EVERY SINGLE MONTH.

2001 had the Zenon sequel, Motocrossed, Jett Jackson: The Movie, and Jumping Ship. We started winding down (probably good, since I was in college then and didn't see much television at all), with 2002 featuring Cadet Kelly, 2003 featuring The Even Stevens Movie and The Cheetah Girls, and another Zenon sequel in 2004.

Of course, everyone knows that the High School Musical phenomenon began as a Disney Channel Original, and that they're still making new Originals, like last month's Lemonade Mouth. Still, I don't find the new stuff nearly as neat as the old. But maybe you do. And maybe you prefer the other dozens of Disney Channel Originals that I didn't mention. So, tell me about the Originals you liked best!

10 Fun Facts from Troian Bellisario

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Although I don't regularly watch Pretty Little Liars, I do find the concept behind the show intriguing. So, when I had the chance to speak with Troian Bellisario, who plays Spencer Hastings on the show, I was happy to get a little more insight into the show. There were some wonderful questions and I learned a lot in just half an hour. Some of the most intriguing things I found out are included below. 

- Troian's nicknames range from T-Rizzle to T-Bone, T-Bird, T-Rex, anything with T.

- Troian comes from a family who works in show business. (You may be familiar with her father, Donald Bellisario, producer and screenwriter who has worked on shows such as Magnum PI, Quantum Leap, JAG, NCIS. Her mother and several siblings are actors.) When she went to her parents and told them that she wanted to act, they asked her to see if there was anything else in the world she would do instead.

- In a fantasy world, Troian would be a rock star. When she was younger, she had a "very intense obsession with death" and was fascinated by forensic scientists and morticians. She had a "draw to work with the dead."

- Troian hasn't had cable in five years, but really enjoyed watching Six Feet Under on DVD. She also is trying to follow Game of Thrones because she read the pilot and auditioned for it and fell in love with it. She prefers movies instead, because of the containment.

- Troian started teaching herself guitar a little while ago. She enjoys playing Bright Eyes, Elliott Smith, Arcade Fire, and The White Stripes.

- When she has free time on the set, Troian likes to sleep, write, and work on other projects.

- Troian does not know who A is. She says that the writers are keeping their options as open as possible.

- Both Troian and Spencer are studious and put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed. We see Spencer's uptight and focused attitude on the show, and Troian said that she was valedictorian of her class, she "felt that [she] had to be the best and the brightest at everything otherwise [she] wasn't worth anything." One big difference is that Troian has learned to re-evaluate her priorities and Spencer has not yet had the life experience necessary to see that need. If Troian was to describe Spencer's superpower, she'd say it was her intellect.

- When asked what her favorite wardrobe piece has been, Troian pointed out that, she'll have a favorite piece, but by the time she's done wearing it (seven days straight for fourteen hours each day), she just wants to get it off and burn it. She does think that there are some awesome outfits coming up, and that the clothes are adorable and really insane.

- My own question to Troian focused on how she enjoys a regular lead role in comparison to the the movies, theatre, and small TV guest roles she did in the past. Doing Pretty Little Liars has really taught her how to carry on and be a professional. Working on something ten months of the year means you aren't always feeling great, and you have to be tough and keep up a good morale. A lot of people "have a lot of ideas about how glamorous it all is and how fun it all is" but you just have to make sure that you're doing your best job for the show.

Thanks to ABCFamily for inviting TheTalkingBox to be part of this Q&A!

Wipeout Renewed; Glee Gets Writers; Roseanne Back

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Wipeout was renewed for a fifth season. Also, new camera techniques will be added, and Vanessa Minnillo will take over for Jill.

If you'd like to read about the newest season of Burn Notice (back Thursday!), as well as an exclusive clip, go here.

Charlie Sheen's trial will not be aired live, as a federal judge ordered it be settled by private arbitration rather than a public trial by jury.

Glee now has a writing staff. And, the kids on Glee will graduate next spring.

Before he resigned last week, Anthony Weiner was offered the opportunity to play himself on Entourage.

In the first photo released of the newest Duggar, Michael James, Jana is missing. I'm not sure why.

Lance Bass has apparently sold six reality shows, including one that will be about putting together boy bands, which we'll see on VH1.

If you haven't seen the all-Betty-White AARP commercial, here you go. I love it.


We're going to be at Comic-Con this year. So will panels from The Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Fringe, Nikita, Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle, Childrens Hospital, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, The Looney Tunes Show, MAD, and ThunderCats, among others. From that list, I'm most looking forward to ThunderCats!!  Here's the WB announcement.

Josh Cooke, who played Ben on Better with You, will have a recurring role on Dexter.

Conan O'Brien will have a small role (like in the background) on How I Met Your Mother next season. In the same interview I linked to, Neil Patrick Harris says that he's "Papa" and David is "Daddy" to their children. I think that's really cute.

CBS will be hosting the Grammys for ten more years.

Roseanna Barr is going to be back on television next month, as Roseanne's Nuts premieres on Lifetime July 13th. Sixteen half-hour episodes have been ordered.

DirecTV has come out with an anti-microbial remote for use in hotels.

We're on Facebook!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So the site is about to undergo a re-design. We've gotten logos created. It makes sense that we get a Facebook Fan Page. "Like" us to follow along! You'll be able to get updates when we change things, post new entries, and we'll be able to use the Questions feature to get your thoughts on new material! Once we get 25 "Likes" we'll be able to customize the URL, too.

As a sneak preview, the new logo is below! Soon it will grace the top of the page, I'm shooting for July 1st to roll out the new design!

If you follow us on Twitter, you've probably already seen our small logo, which we switched to a couple weeks ago. It will also start being seen around the site and hopefully beyond!

The Newlywed Game

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I'm not sure how, but I managed to have a pretty good idea of how The Newlywed Game worked years before actually seeing it. Perhaps it's because various renditions exist outside of television. For instance, many Carnival cruises have a version of The Newlywed Game, and a children's edition was even tried with siblings. I believe that the first adaptation that I saw ran on Full House, where DJ and Steve played a dating couple, Danny and Vicki (who can't make it and he plays with a complete stranger) played an engaged couple, and Jesse and Becky play as a married couple. On my honeymoon cruise, my husband and I tried to play, but they wanted the "most recently married" couple, and there were several couples who got married the day before the cruise began (we were married two days before the cruise began).  

Brief history: The history behind the show is rather long and involved. The show first aired on ABC on July 11th, 1966, in black-and-white. It was the very last commercial network series to premiere in black-and-white (which I find interesting). It switched to color a few months later. It was a hit pretty quickly, and Password, its biggest competitor, was cancelled fourteen months after The Newlywed Game began. The original run lasted until December 1974, and it was revived in syndication 1977-1980, 1985-1989 (which was mostly referred to as The New Newlywed Game), and 1996-1999. There was a primetime week of specials for Valentine's Day in 1984 as well. In 2009, GSN began doing new episodes, and the show is still currently running. Many of the oldest episodes have either been wiped or have deteriorated too much to rerun. And the phrase "making whoopee" is believed to have become popular because of the show. This euphemism for "having sex" has since been heard all over the place. There are also several versions of board games available, though I've never seen them.

The game: Four husband-wife couples play, and they've usually been married for less than a year. Before the game began, each couple would guess how many points that they would earn, and in case of a tie later, the couple closest without going over won out. (If both couples went over, closest still won, and if they guessed exactly, they'd win extra stuff.) The first round had the wives of each team brought off-stage while the husbands were asked three questions. The husbands answered the questions and the wives returned. The wives were then asked the same questions, and if their responses matched those of their husbands, they earned points. Then, the husbands were taken off-stage, the wives were asked to answer four questions, and the husbands came back. They gave their responses to those same four questions, hoping for a match. The final question is worth more than the others. On this show, the prize isn't cars and cash like it is on many others - in used to be appliances, furntiure, or trips, and is now almost entirely trips. 

Notable changes to the way the game is played: In the earliest editions of the show, the husbands went off-stage first. Also, the couples requested specific prizes before the game was taped, and those who requested the same thing competed against one another. The number of questions in the second round varied from four to three to even two at times. For a while in the 1980s, the points were replaced with cash amounts, and the couples kept the cash in the end, even if they didn't win the grand prize. The number of couples competing has been changed to three instead of the original four as well. In the 90s, rather than being asked questions when their spouse was out of the room, they were shown videos of the spouse answering questions and they'd have to answer while the tape was paused. For a while there, there were also rounds where facts would be read and contestants would have to identify whether they applied to their spouse or not. In the current version, a "goldywed" couple plays alongside the newlyweds, and is a couple who played the original game years ago. This happened every episode for a while, but seems to be a special-occasion thing now.

Special contestants: There have been celebrity games where the couple plays for charities. People from The Biggest Lose and My Fair Brady have been on in recent years. The show also now features same-sex married couples, such as George Takai and Brad Altman, as well as non-celebrity same-sex contestants.  

Favorite Rounds: I don't know if I enjoy watching the husbands or the wives more, so I'm really going to have to not list a favorite this time.

My take: I'd love to be on the show. As I mentioned above, my husband and I attempted to do it on our honeymoon cruise! Now that we're not newlyweds anymore (fifth year already!), it's a bit different. I'd still do something similar though, if given a chance. And, if you haven't fled to youtube to catch up on the show now, here's an episode from 1987:




Did you ever watch The Newlywed Game? Did you see more than one version of it, or just the current one? Would you compete?

Random Question: America's Most Wanted

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

It was brought to my attention a few weeks ago that America's Most Wanted was being cancelled. Again. I don't really remember much in television news pointing out that, on May 16th, the cancellation was announced. The final episode ran last night. 

America's Most Wanted was on the air for 23 years, well over half my life. I've never seen it, though I regularly watched Unsolved Mysteries for several years, which some people find to be similar. The purpose of AMW is to help apprehend criminals who are involved in various types of crimes. And, it works. Four days after the first broadcast, a capture was made. There have been over 1100 episodes (and there is an endless amount of material available for future programs... crime hasn't stopped) shown, and 1153+ people have been captured as a result of the show! How can you cancel a show that results in this??

Back in 1996, the show was cancelled, mainly because of production costs. However, 37 state governors, 80,000 law enforcement officers, and hundreds of thousands of viewers all wanted the show back on the air... and six weeks later, it returned. Shortly after the announcement of "the end," fans began rallying together again, hoping that this is not truly the end.

Four two-hour specials are still planned for the Fall. FOX has said that other networks have offered to pick up the show (Saturday nights on FOX have a long-unchanged lineup and some of the steadiest ratings out there), and maybe that'll happen. But, for now, it's unknown what's going to happen.

Do you ever watch America's Most Wanted? Do you think that it has run its course, or should it be preserved (possibly in another form?)?

Anthony's DJ Cake; Sextuplets are 7; Josie has Seizures

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: Cake Boss, Kate Plus Eight, 19 Kids and Counting, and 16 and Pregnant.

Adrian Depressed; Families Collide; Elka Saved

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & Commentaries for "scripted" shows this week include: The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Switched at Birth, and Hot in Cleveland.

Throwback: Cable Problems

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

So you may have noticed that a new list didn't go up yesterday. I had a bunch of crazy issues going on, and they only got more complicated this morning. After dropping off my husband at work and stopping by two grocery stores on the way home, I sat on the couch to have some breakfast and take a few minutes to regroup before a hectic day. But, when I turned on the tv, the cable wasn't working. Long story short, I ended up doing online chat support and tweeting my provider, trying to get a quick fix.

Twitter (which served me wonderfully at my two most recent previous residences) was slow and not very helpful. I attribute that to the fact that characters were so limited that it was difficult to describe my (complex) problem. I also added myself to the online queue, since this was the first time I was trusting twitter with my new provider. At the same time, I was trying to remedy it myself by rebooting everything. Which, of course, knocked me out of the queue since my internet and cable are through the same company/device. Silly me.

Eventually it was my turn for support, and things weren't uber-quick. But, I was understood, not belittled, and everything turned out okay. I had to try several different things, and while I was waiting on them or waiting on the support guy, I managed to swiffer four rooms and a hallway, plus vacuum and clear off the dining room table. This was fortunate, since I was on a pretty extreme deadline.

It took forty minutes or so, but everything got working again. I gave up on twitter help, which was a good thing. I was eventually told it would take a day or so to resolve the issue. I'm really relieved it was this fast. At two said previous residences, twitter solved every problem I had. The place before that never had problems. The one before that had a TON of random issues, many of which were unsolvable because of the way the townhouses were wired for cable. But, since we had random issues all the time, we got free HBO as a concession for the troubles. We had even more problems with the internet there, but that was years ago, so I'm over it.

Anyway, having problems with my cable this morning reminded me of the olden days when I was a kid. Bad weather knocked out the cable. Heavy wind moved the antenna. I've been to friends' houses where heavy rain knocked out the television because of underground wiring. On more than one occasion I've seen a family member on the roof, moving around a dish or antenna, trying to listen to someone shouting out "there! stop! keep going! not yet! more, more!" etc. It's funny now, but it was serious then. You know what I'm saying! 

I guess that technology has really improved to a certain extent in the broadcasting arena. You don't hear about nearly as many issues with antennas moving and satellites shifting and whatnot anymore. It's a good thing, but it amuses me nonetheless. Because, let's not lie, when your television is out now, it's serious business. Your DVR can't record if the receiver isn't working, people! (yes, I'm a bit upset that I missed the first four minutes of my "soap" today. It's not really a soap. and I've seen every episode of this long-off-the-air show before. But I still record and stay on top of it two hours a day.)

So, what has been the biggest television blunder you can remember? Was it a bigger problem back in the day when you had to watch things live, or now, when you rely too heavily on a DVR, LoL?

10 Great Things about the DVR

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Even though it's June and the bulk of original programming in the US is not in full force, the DVR still saves the day often for many of us. Maybe you only watch a couple shows that run new episodes in the summer, but there are so many other things going on in the warm months that don't happen the rest of the year, it's easy to miss a new episode of a favorite show. As someone who knew how to program the VCR at the age of 7, recording television has been vital to me for more than 20 years. Today I thought I'd share some of the wonderful things that the DVR has done for me in hopes that you'll use yours more seriously.

10. DVRs are popular. I'm not the only one who has become accustomed to the luxury of the DVR. As I mentioned back in January, over 43 million homes in this country use a DVR. I'm not alone, and although I don't have numbers for how this number has increased over the past few years, I'm not really under the impression that people are ditching the ability to be free from watching everything live!

9. TV watchers who enjoy a lot of programming can cut down their overall time. Now, don't get me wrong, I sometimes become as engrossed in the commercials as I do in the show being punctuated by those ads, but when I have a lot to watch it's helpful to fast-forward. A 30-minute show can be cut down to 22-23 minutes... doesn't sound like a big help. But, if you need to catch up on 4 hours of recorded programming, you can watch it in 3, which makes a world of difference to reviewers and critics.

8. What did s/he say? Since many (I'm not sure if they all do this) DVRs keep tabs on what you're watching, you can rewind at any given moment - even on a show you're not recording. So, if you miss a joke or want an instant replay or just want to take a second look at an outfit, it's just one button away. Not long ago, in a rerun of The Golden Girls, my husband and I thought we heard Sophia say someone was a "tool." Since we thought this was a more recent insult, we replayed that phrase three or four times before we were certain of the words being said, which we probably wouldn't have believed if it had not been for this DVR feature.

7. Shows to sleep by. Because I review so many of the shows that are in first-run, catching up on episodes just before bed doesn't normally work for me. And scrolling through the on-screen guide isn't something I generally like to mess with when I'm sleepy... plus I get frustrated when there's nothing on. It's become a custom to have my DVR record a few shows that have long been in reruns. That way, I have something to watch before bed that I enjoy, but I've seen it before so I don't get too involved. I personally recommend comedies, but you could do this with anything, really.

6. Many cable networks have Eastern and Western channels. So, an 8pm show may run at 5pm on the Eastern channel and 8pm on the Western one. If you get home at 6pm, you can watch a freshly-taped show with dinner before it even airs live for most of your neighbors and friends! This also helps with those situations where you want to record several things at 8pm - you may be able to get TLC and ABCFamily shows to record in their Eastern slots and then FOX and CBS in the Western slots (which are the only options for broadcast networks)!

5. Is it a new episode this week? There are a lot of things that affect when new episodes air. Pre-emptions occur because of political events, sports play-offs, holidays, and a number of other things. This means that it's not always easy to know if there's a new episode of a show this week or not. Yes, you can check out any number of websites, but if you're already in front of your TV, you can just take a look at what's scheduled for the week, and if the DVR notices a first-run episode of a show, it'll show up - in my opinion this is quicker and easier than looking online.

4. Sports. I'm not an NFL or NBA or NHL fan, but man oh man do I love my NCAA football! While I'll always make it my priority to catch my alma mater's games, I love to catch the games of several other teams in the conference, plus a few others I just like to watch play. And that's not even considering major rivalries (Army/Navy, anyone?) that may conflict with my games. Yes, you can catch the major plays in recaps and such, but there's something thrilling about being able to see whole games (or quarters, at least!) that took place at the same time as your favorite team's match-up! (Note: make sure to set your DVR to record past the set ending time - you never know when overtime will happen!)

3. You can keep your favorite episodes on retainer. If you're in a really bad mood because it was a rough day at the office or you're lonely on a weekend night, you can have something uplifting just a few clicks away. Yes, it may be a bit of work to have your DVR regularly record Friends reruns and then go through and erase the ones that you don't love to death, but I personally find it easier than having to go to the shelf, guess what season the episode is from, pull that box down, figure out what disc you want, then pop it into the DVD player and select the desired episode.

2. You no longer even need to be home to set-up a recording! Well, at least with my current service. I spent Christmas in my hometown last year, which ended up being about a 10-day trip. and while very little new programming airs around the holidays, I thought I had checked my scheduled programming like a hawk before I left. Then, on the plane to Florida I read about a holiday special I wanted to see. Knowing that I can't count on setting aside television time when I'm with family, I was able to log onto our account and schedule the recording, which I was thrilled to see upon my return to California.

1. Multiple shows at once. I've had a DVR with several different companies now, and my current situation is by far superior. With a VCR I thought it was cool that you could record one program while watching another. My first few DVRs could handle two programs at once (and I could watch a third in another room), which was handy, except on Mondays and Tuesdays when I wanted to watch more than that. Now, I can record four programs simultaneously, which handles all of my needs wonderfully, and even allows my husband to keep up with his favorites, too! I hope that this ability catches on with other companies, though I have had a conversation with an installer for a competing company who was shocked that I truly utilize the option to record 4 things at a time on a regular basis.

So, what do you think? Do these reasons stand up for you? What additional things bring you joy over having the technology of the Digital Video Recorder in this day and age?

Some Videos; Upcoming Stars; Betty White's Top 10

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

A quick video on the making of Switched at Birth.

If you want to see a preview for TNT's Falling Skies (starring Noah Wyle, among others), click here.

For a preview of season 3 of Teen Mom, try here.

First Lady Michelle Obama is going to be on an episode of iCarly to promote the Joining Forces program.

Kelsey Grammer will play a Chicagoan mayor in Boss, which begins on Starz October 21st.

It's about time, MTV! They cancelled Skins.

Some commentaries and thoughts on Fall shows for CBS and the CW.

AMC's The Killing got renewed for a second season.

Neil Patrick Harris showed off some baby pictures of his twins. [I LOVE how passionate he is about his babies.]

Charlie Sheen may have another sitcom in the works.

Betty White gave a Top 10 List of tips for living a long and happy life on Letterman, which included:
10) Get at least 8 hours of beauty sleep, 9 if you're ugly.
9) Exercise. Or don't. What the hell do I care?
8) Never apologize -- it shows weakness.
7) The best way to earn a quick buck is a slip and fall lawsuit.
6) Avoid tweeting any photos of your private parts.
5) Schedule a nightly appointment with Dr. Johnnie Walker.
4) Take some wheat grass, soy paste and carob, toss in the garbage and cook yourself a big-@$$ piece of pork.
3) Try not to die.
2) Never dwell on past mistakes, especially you, LeBron.
1) Don't waste your time watching this crap.

Betty White also had some great jokes on Regis this week.

Oh, and some bad news, too. Teen Mom Amber has been hospitalized for being suicidal.

Fun House

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

The first time I saw Fun House, I only saw the very end... where the kids are running through, well, a fun house of sorts. I thought it was terribly cool (though I don't think "cool" was popular quite yet... that took another year or two, LoL) and longed to see the entire show. It took a while before it happened, and I wasn't in love with the rest of the game, just the final round. Then, I promptly forgot about the show's existence for quite a few years. Now, I think it would do well again... maybe Nickelodeon or The Hub could start it up?

Brief history: While it was a short-lived show (1988-1991), the first two years ran in syndication, so tons of episodes were made. In its final year, FOX picked it up, calling it Fox's Fun House. Another version for college students aired in weekly syndication for a while, called College Mad House. It was pretty popular in its heyday, and there were video games, home games, and mall episodes.

The Game: Two teams. One is red, one is gold. Each team has a boy and a girl. You also had cheerleaders (for real). Round 1 had three games - one for the girls, one for the boys, and one for everyone (in various orders). Some games were purely stunt-related, while others were answering questions. You got 25 points for winning (both teams got the points if it was a tie), and there were toss-up questions between the games, for an additional 25 points each. Round 2 had the teams racing at the same time. One team member drove a cart while the other pushed it. You had to stay in your track, grabbing tokens as you went around. The second round had the pusher and the driver switch places, and the teams switched tracks. There were also races on-foot and with pedal-carts. The team to pass the finish line first earned 25 points. You got points for each token (some were worth more than others), and the team with the highest overall total won and went on. If there was a tie, a question was used to break it. Round 3 was the Fun House (which had various layouts). The winning team had two minutes to alternate running through it and grabbing flags. Green flags were money and red flags were prizes. Once you had three flags, you switched to the other player, and if they got three, the first person went back in again. One specific red flag was worth a trip. There were all kinds of rooms with crazy things going on. You didn't have to make it back out to win what you had in your hand, either. Since it's an older show that had a limited run, I wanted to include some video, but you'll have to deal with the quality, which leaves something to be desired. Here's a show in three parts:




Notable changes to the way the game is played: At some point during the syndication version a bin was added at the send of the second lap in round 2. It had some tokens that you could pull over and grab if you were willing to spend the time. When FOX took over, the Fun House round included a clock that you could grab, earning your team 15 extra seconds. For College Mad House, the teams had two boys and two girls each, Round 2 was changed from a race to questions where the winner of each could throw a pie at a loser, and Round 3 changed the names of the rooms to fit the college theme. Also, each team member had thirty seconds in the Mad House, regardless of how many flags they grabbed. And, there was no more "magic trip flag" ... you won the trip if you got all 13 flags!  

Special Contestants:A lot of kids and teens who were popular on television at the time appeared on the show, like Jodie Sweetin, Sara Gilbert, Soleil Moon Frye, Jeremy Miller, Benji Gregory, Danny Pintauro, and Jaleel White.

Favorite Rounds: As I mentioned above, the actual Fun House was my favorite as a kid, and it's still the most enticing, I think.

My Take: I'd compete if given the opportunity, and I think I'd do well. Um, since I love obstacle courses and scavenger hunts, I'd be all over this. If I needed one partner, I'd choose my friend, BK, since we could keep our eyes on the prize and have a good time. If it was the four-player style, I'd add in Heather, who'd be our speedy person, and my husband, who'd probably come up with a really logical plan for the Fun House.

What about you? Who would you choose to be on your team? Did you ever watch Fun House? Did you see the college version, or just the kids one?

Random Thoughts: Oprah's Final Farewell

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

First, a confession. I had never seen an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in my entire life before tuning in to the finale. And, it has been on for the majority of my life. I've flipped past it, sure. I've seen a clip or two online, yes. But I've never watched more than a couple of minutes. This is particularly of interest when you consider the facts that a) I've known a handful of people who have been ON her show (albeit before I knew them), and b) I spent an entire summer watching Jenny Jones' talk show every day.

When I heard that Oprah was starting her own television network, I was amused. I even planned to DVR the first thing that aired... but my DVR didn't understand how to record a channel that did not yet exist. Or, at least I couldn't figure out how to make it recognize what I wanted (I was out of town when it premiered). And now, I can't say that I've even tuned in to her channel once, though I do look at the lineup now and then while I'm scrolling through the on-screen guide. I didn't even realize when The Oprah Winfrey Show was ending (though I did know this was her final season) until maybe a week before the finale.

So, I DVR'd the two-part finale spectacular (which, for some reason that an Oprah fan could probably tell me easily, ran on Monday and Wednesday) and watched. Here are my thoughts, and I encourage you to share with me whether you watched the finale and what you thought. 

Part I:
- I liked her clothing choice (the purple dress seen to the right) for the first part. 
- I love "Tonight's Gonna be a Good Night," so hearing the Black Eyed Peas was cool.
- Apparently the guests are surprises... Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise... Tom Cruise has been on her show TWELVE times.
- There's a LOT of singing. First, a kid sings. Then, a guy sings. Then, Patti LaBelle comes on singing. Then, some Madonna. Geez! Is Oprah always so musical?
- I liked Dakota Fanning comes introducing those young girls who share how Oprah changed their lives.
- I really liked finding out that, because of Oprah, a bunch of schools have libraries. But, I totally rolled my eyes at the "Oprah Tree" being put in front of all those libraries. And then some more... 25,000 to be exact.

Part II: 
- Nice highlights of the early years... I found them amusing and cute.
- The motivational thoughts didn't hit me the way they affected some of the people I talked to about the episode, but they were nice nonetheless.
- um, the rest of the hour kinda bored me... nothing else notable.

Well, what did you think of the finale?

16, 19, Cake, and Kate

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & [Commentaries] for "unscripted" shows this week include: Cake Boss, Kate Plus Eight, 19 Kids and Counting, and 16 and Pregnant.

Switched at Birth Premieres; Adrian Loses Baby; Kyle Ages

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Reviews & Commentaries for "scripted" shows this week include: The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Switched at Birth, and South Park.

Throwback: Fair Dinkum

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

As I've mentioned before, I didn't have cable until I was about ten years old. We had cousins who did, and they'd tape Disney shows for us. A co-worker of my mom's also gave us several VHS tapes full of children's shows that we wouldn't have seen otherwise. One of the shows that we had several episodes of from my cousins' tapes was Dumbo's Circus. In a nutshell, Dumbo the elephant pulls a flying wagon full of animals who put on a circus in various places. The animals are full-body costumes. If you haven't seen the show (and there's a good chance you haven't, since the original run was 1985-1988 and reruns are NOT common), it was really a feel-good children's piece that was very obviously meant for kids. The stories are weak, the songs aren't amazing, and the effects are pretty bad. But, if you watch it as if you were six or seven, it's good. :)

I mention Dumbo's Circus today because one of the characters has been in my head for a while now, and I've been struggling to remember his name without looking it up. I was thinking of the koala ringmaster, whose name is Fair Dinkum (the closest I got was Sir Dinkum before I looked it up). I just loved listening to his Australian accent saying things like "Ladies and Gentlemen, Dumbo's Circus proudly presents..." I also thought that "Dink" was a cute nickname... and it reminded me of another cartoon from back then: The Littles had Dinky. Anyway, I thought I'd just share who he was today in case anyone else wanted to remember him for a minute. And, of course, watch an episode. You should note, however, that because of the age of the show, it's very difficult to find decent copies of any episode, so you experience both audio and visual problems. This is also why I couldn't find a more Dink-centric episode or scene. This particular episode incorporates some nursery rhymes and fairy tales, and we don't see Sebastian (the cat who does ventriloquy). The "three little pigs" segment in particular makes me laugh.


Did you remember Fair Dinkum before the clip? What about after?

Oh, and there are a few others on youtube (including one that is definitely better quality, but I don't like the episode as much) if you feel so inclined.

Magic in Television

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Okay, so I've been sitting on the idea for this one for six months or so. I really enjoy a bit of magic here and there, and there are a bunch of shows with magic in them, to varying degrees. Of course, there are several out there that I've never seen that I understand contain some magic (like Heroes), but today I focus on some of my favorites. And, that's why I only have six in today's list, instead of my typical ten. While I could include things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Powerpuff Girls, and The Wizards of Waverly Place, I've never enjoyed those shows at all, so I can't say I've admired their use of magic... only that i know of it. So I am especially interested to hear what your favorite shows that have magic are, since they may very well be some that I'm not covering!

6. I Dream of Jeannie. I actually find this show to be pretty boring, every time I try to give it another chance. I'm not the biggest fan of Jeannie calling Major Nelson "master" and the ongoing romantic tension bothered me. However, Jeannie crossing her arms, nodding head, and blinking her eyes to make things happen was cool, and I enjoyed her genie costume as well.

5. Jonny Quest. Only one magical character on the show, but I enjoyed watching him when I was a kid! Hadji was an eleven-year-old orphan from India who could levitate things, hypnotize people, and charm snakes, among other abilities. His powers come from being the seventh son of a seventh son (I know, The Dark is Rising much?), and he's normally wearing a jeweled turban... which is what I thought gave him powers when I was little, LoL!

4. The Addams Family. The magical powers in this one are a little different. Gomez can do quick complicated math and some acrobatics, Morticia can light candles with her finger, Uncle Fester is electric, Lurch and Wednesday are super-strong, Pugsley is acrobatic, and Thing can teleport. It's a random assortment of powers, but they're certainly magic... or at least supernatural!

3. Gummi Bears. Zummi was the main "wizard" in this show, but the gummiberry juice itself was rather magical, which was a secret recipe that Sonni and Grammi know. It gives the bears bouncing abilities, but gives humans super strength. Zummi's spells help out as often as they backfire, but he works on gaining a greater understanding of the species' collected knowledge. Sometimes other magical beings showed up, too.

2. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.  I enjoyed this show as a teenager. It kinda lost me in the later years (I wasn't ready to watch shows about college kids for the most part, though it was uber-mature material or anything), but it definitely added to my Friday nights. I love Melissa Joan Hart, and her work as a witch-in-training was great. Her powers sometimes had amusing consequences, but she definitely honed her skill as time went on. There were some great magical moments from other characters as well.

1. Bewitched. I think that an important part of this show is that we see both "good" and "evil" magic. Samantha primarily uses her powers for the greater good, whether it be helping her husband in his career or cleaning the house. Her mother, Endora, however, usually uses her abilities to make an idiot out of Darrin or sabotage mortals in some way.

So, your picks?