If you're interested in winning season 2 of Growing Pains or season 6 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, head over to Things 90s Kids Realize and leave a comment!
Remember Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead? Christina Applegate played a teenager who convinced a fashion company that she was an adult, so they gave her a job. We saw this again on Arrested Development with Maeby convincing people that she was old enough to work at a movie studio. Well, ABCFamily is going to have a show focused on this concept next season: it's called Jane by Design, and Jane is a high-schooler who also happens to be a fashion assistant.
We just saw the episode of Teen Mom 2 where Leah and Corey got married, but apparently they've already filed for divorce.
Hot in Cleveland is plotting a spin-off that would center around Cedric the Entertainer, who will play a minister. This intrigues me.
It's no surprise that FOX wants to burn off the remaining episodes of the canceled Running Wilde. However, it's going to burn them off on FX instead, which is different.
Well, I know we've slipped into February already (is it just me, or is 2011 turning out to be the fastest year yet?!?), but I did want to do a little spotlight on the television actors we lost in 2010.
- Gary Coleman, from Diff'rent Strokes, died of a brain hemorrhage at age 42.
- Andrew Koening, who played Boner on Growing Pains, committed suicide at age 41.
- Barbara Billingsley, who is famous for her role as June Cleaver on Leave It to Beaver, died at age 94.
- Tom Bosley of Happy Days fame died at age 83.
- Rue McClanahan suffered from a stroke and died at age 76, leaving Betty White as the only surviving Golden Girl.
- Charlie O'Donnell died at age 78. He preceded Pat Sajak as announcer for Wheel of Fortune.
- Harold Gould, of Rhoda and Golden Girls, died at 86 of prostate cancer.
- Leslie Nielsen died at age 84.
- James Wall, who played Mr. Baxter on Captain Kangaroo, died at age 92.
- Mitch Miller died at the age of 99.
- Jimmy Dean died at the age of 81.
- Art Clokey, the creator of Gumby, died at 88.
- Billie Mae Richards, who is the voice of the famous Rudolph in the stop-action animation specials, died at 88.
- Merlin Olsen, who played Jonathan Garvey on Little House on the Prairie, among other roles, died at 69, from complications of mesothelioma.
by Amy K. Bredemeyer
Growing Pains was kind of a big deal for a long time, I think. It was in reruns forever (or so it seemed) on multiple networks (not too many), and once Leonardo DiCaprio became a big deal, it really kinda came to the headlines again. Now, that was already more than ten years ago (can you believe that??), but I still think the show is pretty good, despite the fact that it shows up fairly rarely on this site.
The premise (in the event you're not familiar with this family sitcom from the 80s-90s) is a psychiatrist and a journalist with three children. They've always tried to arrange it so one parent can work at home, which is a contention point a few times throughout the run of the show. The oldest, Mike, is a chronic underachiever. Carol is a brainiac. Ben is a schemer. And Chrissy, who is born a couple seasons into the show and rapidly-aged, is your cute little kid, really. No steady neighbors or close friends (Boner joins the Marines and we never hear from him again), though Luke joins the family in the final season as a foster child of sorts (and this photo is from the final season, so he is included). Now, on to the favorites!
Season 1: "Reputation" (S01E19): Mike really wants to pass a history test, so he writes answers on the soles of his shoes. Ben catches him in the act, and Mike explains that "Appomattox Courthouse" is a black friend of his, "captain of the basketball team." However, when he puts his feet on a desk at school, the answers become apparent to everyone, and everyone things Mike cheated (when, in fact, he ended up not needing to). Jason and Maggie aren't sure if they should believe him, and in the end, Mike ends up re-taking the test wearing just his underwear, LoL. Part 1 | Part 2
Season 2: "The Long Goodbye" (S02E21): The Seavers have had the same handyman for years, and he's starting to make more mistakes. The family has had it with his slow and clumsy ways, but Jason lobbies for the old guy, until he doesn't save a document on his laptop and the handyman cuts the power. This episode is particularly interesting because Ben is making a video for school and we see things mostly through his eyes. Whole Episode
Season 3: "This is Your Life" (S03E10): Ben is in the hospital for a tonsillectomy, and is pretty scared that something will go wrong. While he's under anesthesia he imagines that he goes home, only to find that the family has replaced him with another Ben. It's pretty memorable, as boring as it sounds, LoL. Whole Episode
Season 4: "Second Chance" (S04E20): Again, Ben is rocking the video camera. But the main part of the plot focuses on Carol, who finds out that her boyfriend, Sandy, was in a bad car accident. She and her parents go to the hospital to see him, and though he was okay then, he dies before she gets home. This is a really sad storyline, and I was weirded out that Carol thought that Mike would joke about that sort of thing. Whole thing, but not the best quality.
Season 5: "Ben & Mike's Excellent Adventure" (S05E15): Ben needs glue for a school project, so he and Mike go out to buy some. But they end up chasing some girls, running into the principal, allowing their parents to delay them, and more. It's kinda cute, tho it worried me that Ben would be getting such a late start on his project, LoL. Whole Episode
Season 6: "Let's Go Europe (1)" (S06E09): Jason and Maggie go on an anniversary trip to France, which is a package that they bought from Mike, now a travel agent. However, when they get to the airport, the family finds out the Mike is also going abroad, having earned a free trip due to his sales. Mike's tour gets off on the wrong foot, and Maggie getting appendicitis make for some awful starts to their respective trips. I'm a sucker for vacation episodes, LoL. Whole episode, decent quality.
Season 7: "B=MC2" (S07E12): Ben is trying to prepare for AP exams, but overhears a sarcastic comment of Jason's and thinks it's true: Ben's nothing more than a dummy. Meanwhile, dorky neighbor Dwight and Carol start to have feelings for one another, which only half-sounds like a match made in heaven, but ultimately doesn't go as one would think. Whole Episode
So this topic interests me quite a bit, so it's going to be a two-week series, with the top ten next week! PLUS, there's a bonus. If you can guess what I'm going to list as #1 (that post is already finished) before I post that list next Wednesday, you win a prize! Your only hint: it's from a 90s show. 1 guess per person.
20. Clarissa & Ferguson Darling. she tries to kill him in the very first episode! It didn't work. They scheme against eachother to make money off neighborhood kids, fight over their parents' attention when it comes to school activities (think about the episode when Ferguson is running for President!), they are masters at the silent treatment, and Clarissa even tries to break up Ferguson and a girlfriend in one episode. Plus, once they pretend to be awesome siblings to win a car, which is funny given their history.
19. Pete & Pete Wrigley. Most of the time, their storylines were complementary. BUT, when they went head-to-head, it was a big deal. Like the time their parents go out of town, and Big Pete decides to go on a date instead of race bikes, so Little Pete SELLS THE HOUSE. Big Pete has all of a day to smooth things over. Or when Big Pete is going out for a lifeguard position while Little Pete leads a revolt against the local pool's policies.
18. Malcolm & Reese Wilkerson. Some people might put this one up higher in the list. I was never a fan of the show, except that I loved the theme song. And while Malcolm was supposed to be the main character that everyone loved, I couldn't stand him. Anyway, Malcolm and Reese (and the other brothers, for that matter) went at it all the time. If it wasn't blackmail or pranks, it was humiliating acts, lying, keeping lovers apart, you name it.
17. Frasier & Niles Crane. One of our four adult pairs to make my Top 20 list. These two Brit brothers are pretty freaking cutthroat. Who does the dog like better? Who puts on a better party? Who has better connections? Who is a better speller? Really, name a competition and it's probably been fought between these two.
16. Bart & Lisa Simpson. I actually don't see these two as being huge rivals, since many times they just pick on eachother. They also work together to scheme a heck of a lot. BUT, they do both vie for their way on vacations, meals, even a science project at one point. I think one of my favorites is when their square off on the ice, playing for opposing hockey teams.
15. Cara & Mady Gosselin. seriously, I think they try to steal the spotlight from eachother. EVERY EPISODE. Being twins, they fight over toys, no big deal. But they both try to be more helpful to Kate, a better "teacher" to the little kids, and a better hider in games. Most recently, Mady thinks it's unfair that Cara got to go skiing with Daddy, so she wants to go CROSS COUNTRY to have a spa week with Mommy.
14. Lizzie & Matt McGuire. I think these two make a great rivalry. Matt is so cunning, and Lizzie is such a girlie-girl (most episodes) that most tricks work on her extremely well. But, when she wants to be conniving, she knows Matt's weak spots, and hits him where it hurts. They're both always trying to get the other in trouble with mom and dad, and every report card seems to be its own competition.
13. Mike & Carol Seaver. Mike was always in trouble, we all know that. To get attention, Carol had to be the biggest brainiac ever (and her two greatest accomplishments in this might have been learning to read before her older brother, and skipping a grade to be in his class), and yet that wasn't enough. Mike was always finding new things to tease Carol about (and it was so constant that when her beau died in a bad accident, she thought he was telling a cruel joke), and Carol was always trying to catch Mike in a lie.
12. Shawn & Jack Hunter. Easily the hottest pair on this list (including the other ten we'll see next week). And while they're never really after the same girl, I'd personally be hard-pressed to choose between the two! They get off to the rockiest of starts, with Shawn moving in with Jack (and Eric) his senior year of high school, at their father's suggestion. They get into it big time over everything for a while. As time went on they seemed to get a long better and better, but at the same time, they both use the other as a scapegoat when necessary.
11. Zelda & Hilda Spellman. I think that some of their antics would force them higher on the chart, but they weren't really the main characters on the show, and I think that's why they're sitting here, just missing the Top 10 slots. Aside from their abilities to play tricks on one another using magic (which was much more Hilda's style), they have several hundred years' of past rivalries that are mentioned semi-regularly on the series. They fought over men, family heirlooms, businesses, trips, parenting styles, and decor, for starters. It's a good thing they had Salem to keep the peace!
