Fun Friday: "Let It Go," 80s-TV Style

Sometimes I wonder who has time on their hands to find clips and edit them into such things, but then I remember the kinds of things I did when I was 14-15. Granted, the internet was much younger then, but I spent hours upon hours building fan pages for Gummi Bears, Labyrinth, and other popular culture topics I can't even remember anymore. Of course, this was all on one of those AOL Hometown pages that bit the dust back in 2008, but, alongside SimTower, it was what I did for fun, backed up on 3.5" disks.

Digression aside, Jim Cliff has posted a video on YouTube with 60+ clips of 80s television shows spliced together to make out the lyrics to Frozen's "Let it Go." (a song which will, apparently, never actually go away.) It's done pretty well, and I laughed at multiple points, so thought you might get a kick out of it, too.
I'm not going to list all of the series I noticed, but keep an eye out for some greatness like Three's Company, Saved by the Bell, Cheers, ALF, Perfect Strangers, the original Beauty and the Beast, Knight Rider, Who's the Boss, The Cosby Show, The Wonder Years, DuckTales, M*A*S*H, Roseanne, and Dallas. Do you have favorite parts in this mash-up?

Hot in Cleveland: Switching Characters

In the 90s, there were serial daters with their own shows. Cheers had Sam, Friends had Joey, Frasier and Seinfeld had their title characters... it was a thing. It brought fresh faces to the sitcoms for a stretch of episodes, and then they were replaced with new ones. Hot in Cleveland has had that, too, but it's getting extreme as well as boring. Revolving boyfriends, extended family members, coworkers, and even neighbors have been appearing on this comedy, and as soon as a viewer might start laughing at someone, they're out the door. As soon as one of the four ladies might start growing because of someone they're frequently with, that process gets shut down. There's something to be said for sticking with the initial premise of a show, but there's also meat behind the idea that change is good.

facebook.com/hotincleveland

Hot in Cleveland "The Italian Job" (S05E20): Melanie gets a new co-host, Frankie, as the show is now designed to have a lot of conflicting viewpoints. [I'm crinkling my nose here.] When she manages to get him dumped by his girlfriend, he decides to stay at the girls' place and offer his advice to them... and they prefer it over Melanie's! [meh. not the most realistic thing ever, and I think Melanie's constantly changing jobs is one of the more sporadic things about this series!]

J.J. wants Victoria to meet his grown children, Jessica, James, and Lisa. Victoria tries her best, but manages to upset each, and then when she reminds J.J. too much of his ex-wife, they decide to take some time apart. [well, that was a quick relationship! It was kinda destined to fail from the start, though.]

Also, Joy and Elka both fail an oral exam, but decide to listen to Frankie and suggestively blackmail the teacher into passing them. It works.

Season Finale: Big Bang: Changes

I'm gonna go ahead and say it... I don't know how this series will play out for three more seasons. I don't feel like the situations the characters come into are as "everyman" as Friends or Seinfeld, but there's no big gimmick to be revealed like on How I Met Your Mother, either. The close dynamic of Frasier and Happy Days isn't there, and it's not "workplace" enough to work like Cheers or M*A*S*H. But, Two and a Half Men manages to keep finding things to write about, so I suppose there's still humor to be found. One thing is for sure, though... they better find a way to write-in a multiple-part episode with the guys ACTUALLY AT COMIC-CON!

The Big Bang Theory "The Status Quo Combustion" (S07E24): Leonard and Penny share their proposal news with their friends, then their parents, but Leonard's mother already knew, courtesy of Sheldon. [ugh.] Leonard talks to Sheldon about not living together anymore, so he rants to Amy, who suggests that they live together. [basing the wedding on Penny's brother's schedule, it will be 12-18 months from now... good to know.]

Sheldon finds out that he can't change his field of study at the University, as he was hired to do String Theory. He appeals to the faculty senate, but things just start turning sour in every area of his life... and after the comic book store burns down, he heads to the train station, with the intent to ride the rails. [seriously?]

CBS

Amy is pissed that Leonard and Penny let Sheldon leave. [understandably.]

Howard's mom has gone through multiple nurses, and when Penny can't handle the job (at carte blanche), Howard and Bernadette worry that they may end up stuck caring for her... until they realize that Stuart is happy to be Debbie's caretaker, and they take to each other well. [did we previously know Howard's mom's name?]

In other news, Raj has sex with Emily.

Instant Mom: Snorkeling in the Living Room, Striking a Deal

The dynamics of this family really ring clearly to me. When siblings are forced to spend time together, they're not that interested, but when they're given the chance to come up with a scheme, they're all about it. These two episodes epitomize that idea, and definitely remind me of my own childhood, making me all the more excited to see what else will be in store. They're going to need to re-address where the children's biological mother is again, or at least make them miss her, as she was their primary caretaker until rather recently. Any thoughts on how the writers will handle that? Don't forget, one of the writer's fathers is credited with some of the best Frasier, Becker, Cheers, and M*A*S*H episodes ever written!

facebook.com/InstantMom

Instant Mom "Staycation" (S01E10): The family is headed on a cruise, leaving Maggie behind to water the plants, as she had no interest in being stuck together in a small area for a period of time. [how random of her!] Stephanie and Maggie never had a family vacation, so Stephanie has high hopes for this one. But, Gabby isn't interested in fun in the sun because she'd rather go skiing with a friend's family. [sounds like a typical teenager totally believable.] When the airport closes because of the storm, the taxi had already arrived, so the driver stays with the family when the roads close. [I found that hard to believe. he couldn't have gotten anywhere more appropriate?] Stephanie decides to create a staycation, but Charlie soon hurts his back and struggles to hide it from the family. The boys dress up to go snorkeling with fish hanging from the ceiling, then there's a family limbo contest, but that forces Charlie to admit to his back problems. [haha at Charlie saying he couldn't pick up the boys for a mock-swim because they ate less than half an hour earlier!]

Karaoke is next, but the power goes out, so they set up a tent in the living room and gather around the fireplace and continue to try finding something to do together. [awww.] But, nobody wants to play charades or tell stories, until the cabbie convinces Maggie that family matters. Apparently, he has been apart from his family in Moldova for six years, and that makes Gabby realize that she loves her family. She apologizes to Stephanie, and the family tries storytime for a hot minute... until the power returns! [I kinda they didn't turn the power on.]

Instant Mom "Babysit This" (S01E11): Charlie is asked to give a lecture on surgeons and the "God complex," but that means they'll need a babysitter, because the kids can't be left together alone. [James staining Stephanie's "cuddly" (snuggie) was more weird than funny.] James wants to impress the new babysitter with cookies, while Gabby decides to act like James is a monster so that she'll scare her off and have to babysit. [though we all know that she'll get grounded when Charlie calls the agency to find out what happened!] Stephanie doesn't want to miss the event, so she lets Gabby watch the others, which upsets Charlie. [just how bad did he think things were gonna get? glue isn't the end of the world.] Back at home, James and Gabby butt heads and start texting both Charlie and Stephanie, distracting the doctor during his speech. [The elderly couple at the banquet table made me laugh, though they did have annoying moments.] Stephanie then brings up their issues during the Q&A of the speech, while the kids realize that they can just split the money and get along. [haha!]

2 Broke Girls: Cake Fries

The opening sequences are starting to be really "out there," and so unrelated to the actual episode that I find them annoying. Max potentially dealing with credit card fraud was different and could have had an original and unique spin, but it turns out the customer was using his restrooming friend's card, nothing fancy. The remainder of the episode, however, never went back to that at all (and they don't always have to. Full House and Cheers were both great about unrelated opening scenes) and made it feel out of place rather than a teasing interest point. Anyway, the basis for the episode is Caroline trying to find out how the girls can capitalize on the "cronuts" phase and build popularity on that. Rather than attempt to bake the item themselves, they first try a bait-and-switch, then combining elements of snacks to create something of their own. The gang all enjoys "cake fries," which have a cupcake served upside-down with a side of fries for dipping in the frosting. It's something that I don't see myself enjoying, but apparently it works for them! What's next?!?

Monty Brinton/CBS ©2013 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

2 Broke Girls "And the Cronuts" (S03E05):  Caroline goes to give a free cupcake to a couple of customers, but they don't want it, as "cupcakes are over" and cronuts are in. [cookies are my personal favorite, then brownies, but cupcakes will never "be over." just saying.] The half-croissant-half-donut is only sold at one shop in SoHo, and the line can last two days, according to Sophie. [for those of you who don't "get it," we have lines like that for bakeries and ice cream shops out here, too. It's very common for the line to stretch down the block on weekends for no special reason.] Caroline does some market research by asking people why they're in line, and realizes that mixing two things is what people are after these days. [Max working at Target the year they sold out of Tickle-Me-Elmo is unlikely, as it was a popular toy in 1996, when she would have been 10 years old.] They wind up waiting and not even getting a cronut because the two people behind them and skip at the last second, buying the last of them. [as soon as I saw the people inching up, I knew that would happen. Max should have whipped out her savoir-faire!]

Caroline decides to sell black market cronuts at the window, then quickly "sell out" and sell their cupcakes instead. But, first they have to acquire them from Craigslist, at a price of $20 per pastry! The guy actually wanted $30 each, but Max wises up and forces the sale. A line for the window grows, but as soon as they sell out, the line dissipates. [well, yeah. if I wait in line for a flavor and it sells out, I've walked out of the shoppe at least a half-dozen times. recently, this has happened to me twice when I've gone to get a pumpkin latte!] Caroline decides that they need more than one product, and when Max dips french fries into her cupcake frosting, Caroline thinks that's it. Max has the diner gang try it, including Veronica, a black woman Sophie likes. Everyone enjoys the innovation, including Han, who had been on a cleanse. They start selling "Cake Fries" and actually sell out.

Cupcakery Savings Total: $2,012.00 [up $500.00 from last episode.]

Happy 5th Birthday!

Today marks five years of posts on this site. Way back on this date in 2008, I was watching a Cheers rerun while surfing Monster.com, Craigslist, and the like for a job. I was a few months out of grad school and a few weeks from landing a job as a researcher. A lot has changed over the past half-decade, and we went from 89 posts in the first year to closing in on 1900 over the past four years. Not every article you read is from me anymore, as we have three other writers with various specialties - and our cartoon guy has recently returned!

I remember a lot of firsts. I remember the first time over 100 people hit in a single day. I remember when I had a solid month of 100+ hits every day. I remember the first time I got 1,000 hits in a day. I remember the first time I had 30 people on the site at the same time. I remember the first time someone sent me a link to something where TheTalkingBox was quoted. I remember the first time a publicist reached out and offered me exclusives in exchange for publicity. I remember my first screeners. I remember the first time someone else in "the biz" contacted me about growing the site. I remember the first month we had a hit from every state in the US.

We've had 600+ posts that aren't recaps and remarks, and a few make the list of Our Ten Most Popular Posts of All Time, though most of those slots belong to the articles folks search for to find out what happened and what we thought about various episodes. Let's take a quick look at the posts in that list...

Deal or No Deal
Who's Who on Season Three of Cake Boss' The Next Great Baker 
Giveaway: Hunger Games Poster! 
Futurama: October, Germany, and Neanderthals
New Competitions: Bridalplasty & The Next Great Baker
Hot in Cleveland: Meet Joy's Grandson 
Next Great Baker: Final Predictions
Favorite Episodes: Roseanne
NEW SHOW: Abby & Brittany
Cake Boss: Car Cake for Danica Patrick

The biggest surprise? Half of those posts are about shows on TLC, a network that covers a very wide variety of programming, with dozens of shows we never cover.

When I started, I didn't think about where this site would be in five years. Now, it's still tough to imagine what might change between now and 2018, but we hope to be here and doing even more!

Rather than list more accolades and milestones, I'll just throw out another THANK YOU, especially to the readers who never come to the site but read loyally over various means (like Google Currents!), and hope that you choose to celebrate our birthday by passing on a favorite article to a friend.

Top Ten Animated Openings for Live Action Shows

This was a fun list to create because it took a lot of thinking... I struggled to come up with anything in the past decade that fit this category, though it seemed to be pretty prevalent in the 80s and 90s. I included youtube clips so that you could see the intros, in the event you haven't seen a few of the more obscure ones, like Even Stevens. In brainstorming and researching, I was surprised at how many of these I was already aware of... perhaps more shows should consider doing these types of openings - they're pretty memorable, apparently!

10. Batman (1966). Here we have a live-action drama based on a comic book, and they kept the original incarnation's feel in the opening titles, even incorporating the written sound effects like "WHAP!" and "POW!" The cape lives up to expectations, the relationship between Batman and Robin is clear, and the batmobile makes an appearance as Catwoman is mentioned but not seen. What more could you ask for?

9. The Partridge Family. How could I not include such a classic? The opening starts with a rumbling egg that hatches a partridge, which grows a family as you hear the song about the family. In between we have monochromatic portraits of the actors in a simple but fashionably photographed way. I like to watch the Mama partridge walk.

8. Desperate Housewives. Admittedly, this is one that I didn't know about before I started brainstorming for this post. Having never seen the show, I didn't know what to expect and was rather taken by the opening. I particularly liked the portraits of women through time, with stops in The Garden of Eden, Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, the Rennaissance, and the twentieth century to today. Still not enough to make me tune in, but cute nonetheless.

7. Cheers. An iconic theme song with an old-time feel. Sure, we see a couple of modern cars in the opening two seconds, but then we're swept away to the world of horse-drawn carriages, the men at a bar all wearing suits, and the intermingling of black-and-white, sepia, and color. The still pictures cut into one another, zooming in and out on those before us who have had good times with those who know their names. The images changed throughout the series' eleven-year run, but the classic look did not.

6. The Mickey Mouse Club. Digging way back, this black-and-white opener even has the sponsored product depicted in animation! It's a longer intro but features the classic characters performing adorable marching band antics. This one holds a special place in my heart because it was a bedtime song what I was young, 

5. Bewitched. This one stands out in my memory because it was likely the first animated opening I ever saw for a series that wasn't actually a cartoon. I always found it funny that Sam would dress like a "traditional witch" and fly around on a broomstick in the opening when she didn't do that on the series. I particularly like the sparkly stars

4. Even Stevens. This one is technically stop-motion animation (or "claymation," if you will), but I think that's what makes it special. That, and the fact that it depicts how competitive Ren and Louis are from the time they get up until they're relaxing at home that night. The other family members only get tiny moments but they still encapsulate those personalities - Donnie is athletic, Steve is bewildered by his children's antics, and Eileen is constantly working.

3. I Dream of Jeannie. Some local station always had Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie back-to-back in syndication when I was a kid, and so I often caught the opening of Jeannie but didn't stick around to watch. I think the fact that her head came out of the bottle separately from her body freaked me out. The first season didn't have the very first part, with Major Nelson in the space capsule, but otherwise the sequence remained the same to my knowledge. This is the colorized version, rather than the original, because I found the quality better than any originals on YouTube.

2. The Nanny. Growing up, the only thing about this show's opener that I didn't like was the "joie de vivre" line - I hated that there was French in an English theme song! However, I was stunned at how much Niles, Mr. Sheffield, and Fran looked like their animated counterparts, so that made up for it. I think the funniest part of the sequence is that "she was there" and hence was hired in one of those "right-place-right-times" situations.

1. Home Improvement. The best of so many worlds... blueprints, collages, drawings, video games, sticks & stones spelling things, flashy graphics, and fade-ins all appear throughout the five different intros this series used over the course of its eight seasons. I always loved the gaming moments as a kid, but I think the quickly flashing collage for the look of the house most intrigues me now! The video for this one has the first 1:15 for the first season, then 2 & 3 until 2:30, then 4-6 until 3:23, then 7 until 4:15, then season 8 until the end. Also, be aware that the quality on this one isn't the greatest.

Comment below and let us know which animated titles are your favorites, especially if we left some out!

Fun Friday: Camp Cucamonga

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Oh, camp movies! They seemed to be everywhere twenty years ago, from Heavyweights to Poison Ivy, and one of my personal favorites, Camp Nowhere. It might be the middle of winter, but NBC announced last week that it will debut a summer camp drama, Camp, later this year. Set at Little Hawk Family Camp, "parents decompress with gin while teenagers make gleeful mischief and fall in and out of love." Well, thanks to Netflix and their suggestions, I checked out Camp Cucamonga recently, and thought it was cute. Not great, but had I seen it when it originally aired on NBC in 1990, I might be singing a different tune now! I bring it up today because, not only was it a TV movie, but it cast mainly television stars as the characters. Read on:

John Ratzenberger, most known as Cliff on Cheers, played the kind-hearted owner of a camp that, while beloved, may only be a few violations away from shutting down. Jennifer Aniston, now known most for playing Rachel on Friends, was one of the two main camp counselors in this film, and the daughter of Ratzenberger's character. And, Sherman Hemsley, renown for his role of George on The Jeffersons, acted as the handyman, though he was mistaken for the inspector throughout most of the movie!

Quite a few of the kids were favorites from my childhood, including Candace Cameron (DJ on Full House), Jaleel White (Steve Urkel on Family Matters), and Josh Saviano and Danica McKellar (Paul and Winnie, respectively, on The Wonder Years). Sure, there were folks from shows I never watched, like Chad Allen (Zach on My Two Dads) and Brian Robbins (Eric on Head of the Class), but I'm sure some of you recognized those faces! There were also a couple of non-television people, like the never-did-much-else-besides-ten-episodes-of-South Central Tasha Scott and the silver screen wonder Breckin Meyer, too.

I'd love to give this proper credit, but I could only find it here:
http://landofcandycanes.blogspot.com/2012/07/ten-on-tuesday-burned-brotchen-corgis.html

What's the movie about? Well, there's plenty of young love, some cliques, a little bit of wilderness survival, and plenty of antics. There's a resident dork, an attitude chick, a skater, and a bad boy. The show drips with late-80s fashion and jargon, and once you see it you'll never forget the "cu-ca-mon-ga" chorus from the music video the kids create to try to save the camp. Much of the plot is predictable, but there are a couple of twists which will keep you laughing!

Have you seen Camp Cucamonga? Will you be adding it to your Netflix queue? Are you interested in NBC's upcoming Camp? Weigh in below!

Theme Song Trivia

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Another short, internet-inspired post today. It's Easter Weekend and all, so between traveling and cooking (and dyeing eggs), I figured you'd enjoy something short and sweet. Tomorrow, we'll post a new giveaway, so look forward to that as well.

This video came my way in mid-January, about two weeks after it was posted. I thought that it was pretty cute, especially the split-screen video throughout and the reenactments.You may have come across it before, but it only has 232K views, so the chances aren't that high. Enjoy!

Now, the trick is to name each of the television theme songs that are heard in this two-minute compilation.If you clicked over to YouTube to watch it there, someone has provided a list of sixteen songs in there, which is probably correct because the title claims "more than 15." Personally, I can identify 14, and that's after listening to it five times, so give it a try and see what you come up with. Answers after the jump.

Favorite Episodes: Cheers

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I watched Cheers here and there as a kid. I remember my parents liked that show... or at least one of them did. It wasn't all that interesting to me (and it shouldn't have been... what would an elementary-schooler know about a bar??). After watching all of the Frasier episodes, I'd been meaning to go back and watch Cheers to see the background on the Frasier and Lilith characters. I found out that the episodes were available through Netflix streaming, and it took me several months to work my way through the eleven seasons bit by bit. I've finally finished and wanted to share some of my favorites - this is also our 1,000th post, so it seems fitting, because Cheers was the subject of #1, back in 2008. (No video links today - you can stream the series in its entirety on Netflix.)

I wasn't the biggest fan of the first couple seasons - not that I didn't like Diane (because I did prefer her to Rebecca), but I thought that it took a while for the show to do ensemble comedy on a regular basis. Plus, I would much rather have Woody over Coach. Take a look at the episodes I chose and let me know if you preferred Diane or Rebecca, Coach or Woody? Who was your very favorite character and which episodes stand out in your memory?

I maintained my general rules when choosing episodes to appear below... straying from holiday episodes because I generally mention those in holiday posts, and trying not to pick episodes that I have already substantially covered elsewhere.

Season 1: "One for the Book" (S01E11) This is an episode that focuses more on one-time customers than on the bar gang, which is interesting to me. A WWI veteran shows up for his reunion, not realizing that, at this point (1982), nobody else is alive or well enough to make it. It's a sad little plot, but the other random kid makes up for it - he's a young buck about to enter a monastery, so he wants one last night of debauchery. What puts this episode over the top, however, is that Diane is recording the events and quotes for a book.

Season 2: "Fortune and Men's Weight" (S02E17) Throughout the series, Coach did plenty of wacky things, but one that instigated the most trouble was buying a fortune-telling scale. You step on it and it gives you your fortune. Well, ever-superstitious Carla is paranoid, and logical Diane finds it absurd that the patrons are enjoying the funny predictions so much. I particularly enjoy the early hype of Carla's later staunch take on superstitions, plus it's one of a handful of episodes where Diane says one thing when she's removed from a subject, but as soon as she takes part, she does a 180.

Season 3: "Peterson Crusoe" (S03E11)  I like this episode because it has two very different but equally hilarious stories. First, there's Norm, who comes face-to-face with life and death when a physical reveals that he may be dying. He decides to move to Bora Bora, but when he learns that there was an error with his x-ray, he chickens out of a life change and hides in Sam's office... thinking he won't be discovered? The other story is Carla betting Diane that the novice could never pull in more tips than the veteran. Carla even gives Diane a head start, and is winning for much of the night - until a $20 tip in the final minute puts Diane over the edge and upsets Carla.

Season 4: "Fools and their Money" (S04E12)  Naive Woody has been doing well in recent bar pool and thinks he's ready to bet real money. He knows nothing about such things so he asks Sam to put $1,000 (Woody's life savings) in with Sam's bookie. After looking at Woody's picks, Sam doesn't place the bet, thinking that the poor kid has no chance of winning. Well, Woody should have won big, and Sam has to come clean... luckily, Woody is nice enough to believe that Sam wanted what was best for him. The best parts of the episode are Diane assuming a bookie would understand "an honest mistake" and Sam trying to convince Woody to take $1/week for 10,000 weeks. Everyone singing "Home on the Range" is good, too.

Season 5: "Diamond Sam" (S05E14)  Sam and Diane are finally on the same page about getting married, so it's time Diane received an engagement ring. Norm mentions to Sam that he can get him a discount on a knock-off, so Sam goes for it, as it'll save $4,000. In order to keep up the ruse, Sam tells a few lies and buys a few dresses. After Diane wants to have the ring appraised for insurance purposes, Sam actually has to buy the real ring, then switch it out with the one she's been wearing. It was pretty funny up to this point, and we think that things have been taken care of, but Diane then intercepts a call and learns that Sam bought a fake ring - so she throws the one she's wearing out the window while she and Sam are headed to dinner. They never find the real ring, and Sam is now out $9,000. Now, I always laugh when a guy spends a ton of money to impress a girl or to keep her from finding out the truth, but this has got to be one of the more ridiculous examples!

Season 6: "Let Sleeping Drakes Lie" (S06E18)  I think this is one of the funniest episodes in the entire series, though longtime readers know that I'm just a big fan of this type of gag. Wealthy Evan Drake is in Europe and has Norm painting his home while he's away. Rebecca is dying to see the inside of the place, so Norm lets her in... but Drake comes home early and Rebecca has to hide in his bedroom closet. Norm goes back to Cheers and explains the dilemma, ultimately getting the gang to brainstorm on how to get Rebecca out of there without Drake knowing. It takes several knee-slapping attempts, but eventually they succeed.

Season 7: "The Gift of the Woodi" (S07E19)   The obvious plot in this episode is Woody going to Kelly's birthday party, where she's gifted all sorts of expensive cars and whatnot, but he has written her a simple song. It's a classic scene and an interesting song, however, there are two smaller stories that add enough to the episode to make it a winner... Rebecca decides to utilize Lilith as a role model, someone who is serious about her work. Additionally, Cliff has a crazy scheme to cross rutabagas with beets. But, really, the bulk of the cuteness stems from Kelly not understanding that Woody doesn't have riches.

Season 8: "Indoor Fun with Sammy and Robby" (S08E19)  I think this is one of the weaker seasons, honestly. Yes, they manage to work in some jokes, but so many episodes centered around Robin and Rebecca made for a lot of boring stories. Now, those two are in this one as well, but I found the premise oddly amusing. Robin has agreed to take a day off from work to spend however Rebecca wants (so she comes up with a giant list of things to do - the beach, the zoo, a picnic, a show, etc.), but Robin winds up in a competition with Sam that keep going all day, forcing Rebecca to face her "dream day" alone. Meanwhile, Sam and Robin play darts, pool, and chess, all for the bet of one week's salary - Robin is just competitive, and Sam wants to get enough money to finally buy back the bar. The best part goes to Norm and Pete helping Sam cheat in chess.

Season 9: "Home Malone" (S09E25)  Dumb wordplay in the title aside, this episode features Sam babysitting Frederick for the first time. The little bugger outsmarts our favorite barkeep and locks himself in the bathroom. Sam tries to go out the window of an adjacent room to reach the toddler, but Frederick knows how to lock windows and doors. Sam winds up falling to the ground and re-entering the house... only for the entire thing to happen again. Sam has to watch Frederick from a window outside the playroom until Frasier and Lilith get home - not what you'd want to see as parents! The other storyline has Kelly working at Cheers as research, with Carla pulling a few fast ones and Woody worried about guys hitting on her. Both plots are worth watching, but the baby tricking its sitter is the more intriguing.

Season 10: "An Old-Fashioned Wedding" (S10E25)  Thank goodness this is an hour-long episode! Otherwise, there's no way they could have gotten in all of the chuckle-inducing moments that make this installment great! Nearly the entire episode takes place in Kelly's family's kitchen, where the Cheers gang is helping with preparing drinks and whatnot for the reception. Woody and Kelly are going crazy for one another after finally giving in to their sexual attraction, Rebecca has to frost the cake, the guys are hiding the priest's body, Cliff is sewing part of Kelly's dress, and everyone has to avoid some nasty dogs. A great wedding episode if ever there were one.

Season 11: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Bar" (S11E14)  Robin makes a return, telling the Cheers folks that he has donated the $6M that was in Rebecca's desk and now plans to live a life of poverty. He admits to still have feelings for Rebecca, and she figures he probably hid another $6M somewhere nearby, which was his habit. Everyone tears apart the bar looking for a money belt, taking turns calling Robin on the sly for hints, but it can't be found. The deduce that the fire captain must have taken the money when the bar burned down six months prior. Carla has her kids kidnap the guy so the Cheers group can interrogate him. Rebecca, meanwhile, thinks that Robin is feigning destitution in order to test her. He stops by the bar on his way out of town, letting the guys know that there never was another money belt.

Throwback: Sitcom Scandals

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I was flipping through the channels one day a couple months ago, and came across Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals on the Biography Channel. It was about Gilligan's Island and Diff'rent Strokes and I was intrigued. Of course, I knew a lot about some of the background stories about Dana Plato and Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges, but there were tons of interesting bits that were new to me.

I ended up setting my DVR to record the series. As I was watching the sixth episode (having deleted the fifth after just a few minutes, realizing that the entire hour would be about Lost In Space, a show that I don't care about), I decided to look up the series and figure out how many other episodes I could look forward to, and what other shows it might feature. Well, imagine my disappointment when I discovered that there were only six made... I was watching the final installment right then and there. So, I heard fascinating things about The Facts of Life, Welcome Back Kotter, Roseanne, Laverne & Shirley, Cheers, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Happy Days, and M*A*S*H, in addition to Diff'rent Strokes and Gilligan's Island. It was fun to hear the different actors talking about the ways that things went down and the issues that they dealt with earlier in their careers.

I would have enjoyed seeing more old shows covered. And it's not like there weren't any other shows that had issues. I'm not sure what happened to The Truth Behind the Sitcom Scandals, but maybe another show can try something similar... after all, in the days of reality television being king, there is certainly a lot more shady stuff going on!

My List of the Top 10 Spin-Offs

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

First, an apology to those who got this post early. I upgraded some things last night and wasn't used to some new shortcuts when I began this post this morning. 

This is an area where I have a lot of interest. I'm not really sure where it started, but I've always been curious about spin-offs. The idea that certain characters from a main show become popular enough that they get their own storylines without a crutch is just cool. And, over the years, there have been tons and tons of spin-offs. And, as per my usual, I'm pretty sure that some of my selections will shock readers. I tend to like things that are a bit off, and tend to loathe things that others adore (you will notice that Animaniacs did not make my list, for instance).

10. A Different World, from The Cosby Show. I actually like this show quite a bit, and it did great. But it was created to be a vehicle for Denise Huxtable, who only lasted a single season on the show, which is why I gave it the #10 spot. In case you've never seen it, it's about college kids at (mostly black) fictional school Hillman, and the troubles they deal with.

9. The Simpsons, from The Tracy Ullman Show. This one fell low on the list because a lot of people don't know that The Simpsons is a spin-off. And, I must add that I've never seen The Tracy Ullman Show, aside from the clips of the original Simpsons family that have come up over the past twenty years. Still, the show about an overweight guy and his somewhat average family is certainly a household name! 

8. Quack Pack, from DuckTales. As a child who was in her early elementary years during the height of The Disney Afternoon, I loved DuckTales as much as anyone. And, while I was partial to Webby storylines, Huey, Dewey, and Louie were great characters. So, when I found Quack Pack in middle school, I was delighted to see the threesome appear as teenagers. Only 39 episodes exist, but I think that the essence of the characters continued from childhood into adolescence, making for a very believable show.    

7. Melrose Place, from Beverly Hills, 90210. I didn't know that Melrose Place was a spin-off when I began watching in 1996. It was one of the only shows that my mom ever watched in original run, so that was my draw to it. In fact, I didn't know it was a spin-off until I was in graduate school and working my way through 90210 for the first time. The connection took place in the second season, as Kelly was interested in a guy named Jake, who lived in the eponymous apartment complex. On the whole, Melrose Place was way too mature for a young teenager, but I watched the final few seasons anyway... though it didn't entice me enough to ever go back and catch up on the entire series!    

6. Joey, from Friends. Yes, it failed miserably. People couldn't stand it, and nobody understood why Joey didn't talk about his friends... plus, no guest appearances in 46 episodes! Now, if you're a long-time reader, you may remember that I had a love-hate relationship with Friends until I was almost done with college. I ended up seeing the entire series and enjoying it, and worked my way through Joey in less than a week. I found the show to be amusing, though it was full of issues as the writers struggled to find an audience.

5. All Grown Up, from Rugrats. Rugrats was such a captivating show, as I believe that I have mentioned a few times. It's one show that I can say both of my siblings and I enjoyed together (which was a problem when we got the Playstation game - it was only 1 player!). All Grown Up ran for 55 episodes, and featured the kids aged ten years from the original show. This is another case where I think that the characters were very believable - the traits and personalities really matched what you might think the kids would grow up into. The show didn't really end with any closure, but was a good addition to the Rugrats franchise.

4. The Jeffersons, from All in the Family. A true classic spun from another well-loved show. The Jeffersons is downright hilarious, and my brother and I have many great memories of watching it together on Nick at Nite. Although George wasn't on All in the Family until it had been on a while (Sherman Hemsley was on Broadway at the time), his family was an interesting dynamic on the show, which took place in working-class Queens. The family later moved to a luxury high-rise in Manhattan, during one of the greatest lead-ins in television history - one week you move from the characters on one show, the next you move into a new place on a new show!

3. Daria, from Beavis & Butthead. I LOVED Daria. I thought that it was such a good, funny, clever show. Daria was a recurring character on Beavis & Butthead, a show which I am proud to say I've never seen. But, for a recurring character to go on to have a five-season success and two tv-movies says something. Daria's witty and pessimistic outlook on life amused me to no end, and I just thought that Quinn was the cutest thing ever. I've been waiting for the complete series to go on sale again, because I really must have it!

2. Family Matters, from Perfect Strangers. I loved Perfect Strangers when it ran originally.  I wasn't allowed to watch a lot of night-time television, but I vaguely remember catching it my grandparents' house or something a few times. I can't say that I remembered Harriet Winslow from that show, and therefore wasn't aware that Family Matters was a spin-off when it began (which I did watch by the third season or so). One might argue that Family Matters was far more popular (and much longer-running) than Perfect Strangers, though they were both very different shows. Harriet's character was clearly the same as it was in Perfect Strangers, and Family Matters became a memorable sitcom across the country.

1. Frasier, from Cheers. One of my favorite shows since I began watching it, Frasier is a very long-running show spun from a long-running show. I've seen several dozen episodes of Cheers, and the overall feel of the show is vastly different from that of Frasier. And, although some people gripe about how different Frasier's character is between the two shows, I think that it was addressed throughout Frasier, and the Cheers characters still got along with Frasier for the most part. The storylines in Frasier were also very different (and many ran much longer) from those in Cheers, but both shows' successes certainly define the greatness that Kelsey Grammer embodied.

To end this post, I though I might point out to one of the craziest chains of spin-offs that I've ever come across... Sabrina's Secret Life was a spin-off of Sabrina, the Animated Series, which was a spin-off of the 1996 version of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch which was a spin-off of Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies which was a spin-off of The Archie Comedy Hour which was a sequel to The Archie Show. ...yeah.

10 Best TV Weddings that Didn't Happen

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

you know. when the characters are set to get married but something doesn't go as planned. [My apologies to those who may have received this before it was finished - I had an internet problem.]

This isn't an original thought of mine... I saw another list done here recently, but I have different ideas of what should be at the top of the list (and my list is a top ten, LoL). Keep in mind, this is based off of shows that I watch, so things like Hayden & Christine on Coach aren't gonna make the cut, regardless of how interesting that may have been.

10. Danny & Vicky on Full House. They show up so low on the list because I never really warmed up to Vicky. Sure, Danny and the kids liked her, but I kinda wished Danny would have made it with Cindy (about two seasons before Vicky showed up, LoL), plus then we'd have Rusty in the picture for the girls to contend with.






9. Sam & Diane on Cheers. I think I would be more intrigued by Frasier & Diane, but I haven't seen any episodes that dealt with that. Anyway, Sam and Diane have a tortured history, and several really bad breakups along the way. It makes the list today because Diane left with the promise to return after she finished her novel... even though Sam knows it'll never happen.

8. Will & Lisa on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I liked Lisa a lot, but didn't think she was right for Will. But I think she does make a good sister to him. That's right. The second time the couple tried to wed (the first was the Shaft wedding in Vegas), they called it off and their respective parents married each other. Strangely, Lisa is never seen again.

7. Ted & Stella on How I Met Your Mother. We all kinda knew that Stella couldn't be the mother of Ted's children (it just didn't seem logical), but it would've been interesting if he had a first wife before the mother, LoL. Stella leaves Ted for her ex-husband and father of her child, and Ted is devastated. I'll never forget how sad he looks on the ferry boat.





6. Luke & Lorelai on Gilmore Girls. They belong together. Truly. From their first interactions, I think many fans wanted them to come together. It took four seasons for them to kiss, another for the engagement, and sadly it comes to a close when Lorelai doesn't want to wait any longer, and Luke does. Then there's an awkward phase (that seemed like forever!) before the two seem to rekindle in the series finale. It could've been a beautiful marriage.

5. George & Susan on Seinfeld. I think this one wins in the comedy department. It all starts when George & Jerry decide to "grow up" and settle down. But, when George decides he doesn't want to get married after all, he tries like HELL to break up with Susan. She turns into the world's most-accepting woman and puts up with everything he does. The only way the wedding gets called off is because she dies, poisoned by the glue on the wedding invitations. Classic.

4. Sabrina & Aaron on Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. Yeah, yeah. You probably stopped watching that show about the time Sabrina went off to college and lived with Soleil Moon Frye, LoL. But, it kept going for several years, and she eventually meets a guy named Aaron in the (middle of the) final season (although I think she would've been better with Josh!). They date for about 5 episodes, are engaged for about 5 episodes, and then she calls it off because she realizes that Harvey is her soul mate. Best part of the wedding? Zelda is a candle so Sabrina's mother can attend her daughter's wedding.

3. Donny & Daphne on Frasier. I never liked Donny (I wanted Niles to have her and be happy, LoL), and was surprised when the pair got engaged. This episode gets ranked so highly purely because of the craziness that takes place in the wedding episodes. Not only are Daphne's brothers so much more than a handful, Niles and Daphne constantly being interrupted by one thing or another. And, let's not forget, the moment on the balcony where we were all pulling for dear, sweet Niles, was one of the most dramatic scenes EVER.





2. Brandon & Kelly on Beverly Hills, 90210. These two went through a million different problems through the years. They first seriously consider marriage at the end of Season 5, miscarry at the end of Season 7, get engaged toward the end of Season 8, and the wedding goes awry in the Season 8 finale. Really, the couple just decides that they have too many doubts. But they were TOO CUTE together! And Jim and Cindy's return to see it happen was great. And as much as I liked her with Dylan, he could have Brenda. I really wanted Brandon and Kelly to work out. In fact, I think I still do (I don't watch the newest spin-off, but I hear Brandon has made an appearance... and Kelly is a regular...).

1. Simon & Rose on 7th Heaven. She was all wrong for him. I don't know that many people were pulling for them at all! But, it was still an amazing set-up. And the fact that they still had the party without the wedding was fun, because we heard about the three oldest children all expecting twins! It made for an interesting (faux) series finale, and for a crazy start to what became the final season (poor Lucy and her miscarriages).

who's missing?

Final Set of Thanksgiving Favorites!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I know that there is another Monday after today that takes place before Thanksgiving, but I'm going to be out of town, so I can't guarantee anything. And, I honestly am tapped out as far as good Thanksgiving episodes go. There's a ton more that I could throw on a list, but I wouldn't be backing them fully. So, without further ado, here are the final five Thanksgiving episodes that you should try to catch this season.


Home Improvement: "A Frozen Moment." While Jill is making Thanksgiving dinner, Tim goes overboard building a Christmas village for the family to take a Christmas card photo in. He even makes the kids dress as elves! I couldn't find any clips of most of the episode, but I did find a short segment featuring the Tool Time part of the show: The Man's Bathroom.


Cheers: ''Thanksgiving Orphans." The gang all goes to Carla's for Thanksgiving. Diane wasn't invited, but she shows up anyway, in a pilgrim costume. The first half of the episode actually isn't all that special, but the second half is hilarious. First, Diane's list of things she's thankful for is good, the food fight is fun, eating while covered in food is even funnier, and the icing on the cake is the chance at seeing Vera, but her face gets smashed with a pie as soon as she arrives.

Family Ties: "No Nukes is Good Nukes." The conservative kids (and the grandparents) can't stand that the parents want to go to an anti-nukes rally on Thanksgiving. Jennifer makes some good jokes. THe ongoing gag about Grandma being a bad cook was funny, too. Definitely a different holiday when Elyse and Stephen are arrested at the protest. It's on CBS's website, watch it in full here.

Friends: "The One Where Ross Got High." Ross tells Chandler that the Geller parents don't like him because Ross blamed pot on him once. Rachel makes a trifle with beef. Joey and Ross are trying to get to a party. Monica and Ross end up telling on eachother for all kinds of things... truly a great clip. But, you get the spliced trifle storyline here. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to catch the whole thing on TBS on Thanksgiving Day, LoL.

Friends: "The One with the Late Thanksgiving." Monica and Chandler don't want to host Thanksgiving, and then when Monica is challenged, everyone comes really late. The guys go to a game, and the gals take Emma to a beauty pageant. Monica gets really upset and locked them all out. Joey gets stuck in the door. The adoption agency calls. In the end, all is well. Check out the first part of the episode.

The Top 10 Unseen Television Characters

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

you know. the characters which never appear, but are often referenced. They might even speak, but no face is ever given to the name. Some shows use this convention more than others, but there are definitely some memorable characters which have no formal physical appearance.

10. Charlie Brown's Teacher (Peanuts), whose voice is created by a trombone (although someone once told me it was actually a muted trumpet, so that may also be the case). She's the one animated character to make the list, and I think it may be because the "voice" amused me from a young age.

9. The Gooch (Diff'rent Strokes), Arnold's foil. Bet you forgot about him, eh? Well, he was mentioned plenty of times... teasing Arnold, daring Arnold, fighting with Arnold, all sorts of childhood mischief.

8. Cousin Jeffrey (Seinfeld), the one that Uncle Leo is always bragging about. He was rumored to have kissed one of Jerry's girlfriends. He worked for the Park (Central Park, maybe? I'm not sure) and once got Jerry some concert tickets. Considering how often other members of Jerry's family were seen, I'm completely unsure as to why we didn't see Jeffrey even once.

7. Dr. Kahn (Salute Your Shorts), the camp director whom none of the characters seem to have seen, either. His voice was heard over the loudspeaker (almost) every episode, and Counselor Ug seems quite afraid of him.

6. Vera Peterson (Cheers), Norm's wife. You might argue that she shouldn't be on this list, since her legs are on camera, and I believe her torso is seen once as well. But Norm speaks of her semi-regularly, and the other characters seem to have a grasp of her as well, so she still counts as unseen.

5. Heather Sinclair (Degrassi: The Next Generation), Holly J's older sister, who is pretty much everyone's enemy. Paige specifically doesn't like her, but many of the characters talk about Heather in an unpleasant tone throughout the show.

4. George Steinbrenner (Seinfeld), George Costanza's boss while he worked for the Yankees. We see the back of his large office chair, and hear him speak almost constantly (his voice is not by the real George Steinbrenner). I wonder if that's why we don't see him... because he is an actual person and didn't want to be on the show.


3. Stanley Walker (Will & Grace), Karen's rich and obese husband. Technically you see his feet and hands at separate times, but he's talked about a crazy amount of time without actually ever being seen. His character ends up with quite the storyline, including jail, (faked) death, divorce, and financial difficulties.

2. Maris Crane (Frasier), Niles' first wife. She's spoken of throughout all eleven seasons, although she and Niles divorced several years into the show. She specifically was never seen because it became too difficult to properly portray her due to all of the crazy attributes which she gathers throughout the series.

1. Alma Borland (Home Improvement), Al's often-ridiculed mother. Since Al and his brother Cal look so much alike, and it's made clear that one takes after the mother and one takes after the father, mom & dad must also look quite similar. That, and Tim's frequent teasing of Al about his mother's size (among other things) really made me want to see how they'd cast her. Alas, it never happened, despite the fact that Al had two planned weddings.


The other major contenders: The Gibblers (Full House), Kimmy's family, that includes two parents, an older brother, and possibly three sisters. Dr. Claw (Inspector Gadget), the guy always plotting against Inspector Gadget. Nanny (Muppet Babies), although we do see her striped socks. Mr. & Mrs. Urkel (Family Matters), Steve's parents. Sparky (M*A*S*H), the radio operator. The Ditmeyer Family (Brady Bunch), the neighbors to Mike, Carol, and family.

Entertainment at Noon

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I love being entertained. I love comedians, circuses, television, dance, theatre, and tons of other forms. I love the fact that artists have the ability to mold themselves into different roles, and they all work. However, every once in a while you come across an actor in a role, and it is so memorable that every time you see him or her in the future, you can only picture that performer as a previous character.

Case in point: Cheers is on right now. And it's an episode shortly before Woody's marriage to Kelly. Rebecca (Kirstie Alley) has reconnected with her high school boyfriend, played by Harvey Fierstein. Now, for those who were old enough to stay up late enough in 1992 to watch this episode live, it's doubtful Fierstein made much of an impression, as it was relatively early in his television career (though his theatre resume is impressive). However, for those of us who were too young (or just not a fan of a show set entirely in a bar), our first major introduction to Fierstein was in Mrs. Doubtfire in 1993. If the name's not yet ringing a bell, he played Frank, the brother of Daniel Hillard (Robin Williams). At this moment, I'm once again remembering the beauty parlor scene, complete with a short rendition of Fiddler on the Roof's "Matchmaker." He's been in Independence Day, White Lies, even Elmo Saves Christmas. He voiced Yao in Disney's Mulan and its sequel. However, I see him and just cannot see past his role in that early 90s comedy. It amuses me to see him play any other character.