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?

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?]

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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!

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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!]

The Newsroom: Maggie's Story

Does anyone understand why Maggie has been treated as if she experienced the most horrible night imaginable when Daniel died? She had known the child mere hours, and knew little about him beyond the fact that his parents owned cattle and that he was a big fan of Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile. Will and the others have been talking as if she had been gang-raped and beaten to a bloody pulp. Surely Mackenzie has seen worse than this! Also, although it came as no surprise that Daniel died (the dramatic irony of one non-orphan at an orphanage was too obvious), the dueling visions in Maggie's memory were a bit confusing. Viewers are left wondering if it's a M*A*S*H scenario where she's blocking out the truth of what happened on the bus, or if she is struggling to distinguish fact from fiction. Of course, she may begin blocking out even more now that Jim is headed back from Romney's campaign trail...

The Newsroom "Unintended Consequences" (S02E04): Rebecca (who is a first amendment lawyer, by the way) is back to work on the wrongful termination suit and talks with Maggie about the events taking place in late September and early October, though there is also mention of a March 22nd interview Maggie conducted with a Polish guy in Silver Springs, MD. [what was with the Dutch jokes?] A freelance reporter in Africa met the pair and took them to the orphanage site immediately, where they began interviews with soldiers. Then, they go inside a classroom, where the kids think they're evil because of the video camera. [that was a very sad scene.] There's a kid named Daniel who is alone a lot, so Maggie tries to befriend him, reading him the same book eight times. Maggie and Gary unexpectedly wind up staying the night, and there's danger because men with guns arrive on the property after midnight. Nobody understands the language that is being spoken, so the request to hand over the camera was not comprehended. Instead, as the orphanage is evacuated, Maggie is left trying to save a terrified Daniel, who winds up getting shot in the back and dying. [but she pictured reading him the book again on the bus, perhaps to make herself feel better.] Because of the situation, they never made it to the big story, as they had to head back and be debriefed by HR. Maggie was prescribed Paxil, but she doesn't take it, feeling she doesn't need it. [figures.] She does, however, think that the boy saving her life, and she cuts and dyes her hair in a response to a comment that the African pastor made about blondes being nothing but trouble. The big question is to answer whether or not someone said "it happened," though the details remain sketchy.

Maggie and Gary left the night Will interviewed Shelly, Neal's OWS contact. [she's also an adjunct of some sort??] The interview went miserably, but the bigger problem is that Shelly will no longer help Neal, and he's desperate to gain access to someone else who knows about Genoa, as there's been no luck in contacting the tweeter. Shelly demands an on-air apology from Will, but he won't agree, of course. Both Sloan and Don separately try to talk to her, but both conversations end in disaster. [Don offering Shelly time on his news hour was nice.] In the end, Will actually goes down to her college to interrupt a class to tell her that her movement needs leaders. And, after she admits to being terrible on the show, he apologizes for treating her poorly because he is having a "crisis of confidence."

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He didn't even need to go down there, as ACN was able to track down the source she knows - Leon Deet, who was working for a human rights commission and wrote a report that sounds a lot like the Genoa story.

Jim, Hallie, and Stillman make it to the hotel but they no longer have rooms because of their protest, so they share a room and intend to follow the bus the next day. After losing the bus, Hallie gets in trouble for not writing about the latest news, and Jim and Stillman witness just how poorly she is treated at work. [I'm more dumbfounded that something actually happened on the campaign trail!] Mack tells Jim to get it together and get comments on the news breaks, so he wears down spokesperson Taylor... only to get Hallie thirty minutes with Romney. [now he's just trying to be a nice guy, but I wish that he wouldn't!] Mack finds out and pulls Jim from the trail. There could be long-distance romance on the horizon, however, as Hallie kisses Jim. ["Vassar" could be the drinking word this episode!]  

There's also a small storyline where Don approves a copy containing the N-word, pissing off Charlie. Apparently, most other networks are talking around actually saying Rick Perry owns Niggerhead Ranch, though ACN uses the actual name of the location. 

Top 10 Television Republicans

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Here we go, the sequel to our Top 10 Television Democrats! No pairs today, so it's truly ten characters listed below, including one who is very new this season but she's so staunch that we couldn't make the list without her! 

all images pulled from wikis and IMDB

10. Lucille Bluth, Arrested Development. Out of touch with the economic problems surrounding her, Lucille doesn't believe that it's her responsibility to take care of anyone she doesn't have to. She also has no concept of economics or poverty, believing that the poor must certainly be able to afford food, bananas are only like ten dollars. Humorously, she won't respond to to questions she doesn't understand, has a Bush/Cheney 2000 sweater, and the internet has created a Mitt Romney/Lucille Bluth tumblr, (and a Lucille Bluth/Mitt Romney one) if you need some laughs about her conservatism.

9. Ned Flanders, The Simpsons. It's not difficult to see that Homer's neighbor is a pretty conservative guy... in fact, he might top the list for Springfield. He has said that he wished they "lived in a place more like the America of yesteryear that only exists in the brains of us Republicans," solidifying his stance against change and the desire to turn back the clock, as many see Republicans to believe. When his son, Todd, asks him what taxes pay for, Ned explains that the go toward "policemen, trees, sunshine. And let's not forget the folks who just don't feel like working," another quote showing his anti-handout grounding. It's difficult to get beyond that because his Christian outlook begins to mingle with his political affiliation.

8. Cindy Sanders, Freaks and Geeks. Cindy is the head of the Young Republicans club at McKinley High, and receives the honor of introducing Vice President George H. W. Bush when he comes for an assembly. Cindy stops dating Todd partly because he is a Democrat, and she annoys Sam with her political rants to the point where he becomes disinterested in her. One of her key conservative lines may be, "poor people shouldn't get handouts; they should get jobs."

7. Jane Forrest, The New Normal. A new character this year, Jane is very proud of her Republican upbringing and beliefs. She forced her daughter to keep her baby at age 18, because she needed to face the responsibility of her actions. She also stole Goldie's ballot in 2008 and is shocked when Goldie might not vote Republican in 2012. She's very against the "definition of marriage" changing, so when Shania has a pretend wedding to classmate Wilbur, Jane organizes a protest with some of the girls at the school whose parents have Romney stickers on their cars. Not bad for a character who has only been in six episodes so far!

6. Howard Cunningham, Happy Days. Late in the second season, "The Not Making of the President" (which can be seen on Bing) has Howard as an Eisenhower supporter. That's not much, but when Richie decides to campaign for Adlai Stevenson because a girl he likes is the President of the Junior Democrats, Howard is upset that Richie isn't respecting his opinion. He's also upset that other people are putting Stevenson bumper stickers on his car, but he flips his lid when Richie makes a speech for a Democrat when the Cunningham family is a long line of Republicans. When Fonzie is also shown to support Ike in the 1956 election, Howard is intrigued, though he later admits that he respects Richie for thinking for himself. When Marion admits to voting for Stevenson, however, Howard again erupts! 

5. Carlton Banks, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He doesn't miss an opportunity to remind people that he's a Republican. He thinks that wealthy people should be left alone and not have to pay higher taxes, that everyone should look out for their own interests, and that laws should have strict interpretations. He's not big on environmental protection like his sister, Hilary, and thinks that environment in which you're raised shouldn't affect your outcome too much - everyone knows right from wrong and has the ability to work hard. He follows that party line pretty hard... 

4. Stan Smith, American Dad. Stan is a very impulsive guy, latching onto and then abandoning beliefs as they fit his situation, though he doesn't sway from being a card-carrying member of the NRA. He's pro-surveillance (of course, he works for the CIA), patriotic to the bitter end, and opposed homosexuality and gay marriage for the first season of the show. He's offended when he's not chosen to give a speech at the Republican National Convention, and is an authoritarian to the point where he'll brainwash his family into obeying him. He quotes Reagan, considers George Bush to be a hero, and opposes abortion. Am I missing any glaring Republican traits?  

3. Charles Winchester from M*A*S*H. He's an uber-conservative. What's interesting, though, is that rather than adoring Republicans, he just really hates Democrats, like Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry S Truman. Charles is so conservative that he says things like "a lot of people dribble soup on their chins and vote for Democrats," that he'd rather "share his toothbrush with a Democrat" than ask to borrow Margaret's record player, and "he's so conservative that he'd make McCarthy look like a New Dealer.  

2. Alex P. Keaton, Family Ties. In contrast to his "hippie" parents, Alex is a staunch Republican, idolizing Nixon (both framed on his wall and appearing on his lunchbox!) and voting for Reagan and George H. W. Bush during the run of the show. Alex has a keen interest in economics, belongs to the Young Republicans, and dreams about the Declaration of Independence being written. A good chunk of the entire series features Alex being conservative in one way or another, actually. 

1. Archie Bunker, All in the Family. As the only Republican in his household (Edith voted for Carter in 1976 and Mike donated to the McGovern campaign, just for the tip of the iceberg), Archie maintains a conservative stance on many things, causing regular tension with his family. Though he is also seen as an extreme bigot, his Republican perspectives led him to support Nixon and Reagan, and oppose peace protestors and civil rights movement organizers. Additionally, when his neighbor, George Jefferson, runs for a local office on the Republican ticket, Archie supports him, regardless of his George's African-American heritage.

Here, take a look at him rail the Democrats.


Some honorable mentions include Matt Camden on 7th Heaven, Spinner Mason on Degrassi: The Next Generation, Charlotte on Sex and the City, and Leon Carp on Roseanne. Who is missing?

Top 10 Television Democrats

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

With the 2012 Presidential Election upon us, I thought that it would be cool to take a look at some openly political television characters. Today we'll look at Democrats and tomorrow we'll look at Republicans. No special reason that we're doing one before the other.

all images pulled from wikis, except Family Ties from IMDB

10. Joe Quimby, The Simpsons. Mayor Quimby is largely portrayed as an animated collage of political Kennedys, with an accent, a passion for womanizing, and uses money to solve as much as possible.

9. Grace Adler, Will & Grace. She wastes no time in declaring her political affiliation - in the fifth episode, "Boo! Humbug," she says, "I'm a Democrat" when she has to take Harlin's children trick-or-treating and one is dressed as Richard Nixon!

8. Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan, Friends. Though the show never gets very political, it would be difficult to peg Phoebe as conservative! She's a vegetarian, respects the environment, loves all animals (even smelly cats and rat babies!), donates to the homeless, and is really a free spirit in many ways. She's a lover of peace, not a big fan of Western medicine, doesn't like mass-manufactured products, and generally doesn't worry about how others see her. One very liberal thing she does is after she gets married she legally changes her name to Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock for an episode! 

7. Hawkeye Pierce, M*A*S*H. Hawkeye was drafted and opposes the war, often disagreeing with everything the army stands for and disregarding their policies. In "Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde," he sends a telegram to President Truman, asking "Who's Responsible?" for the insanity taking place. Many seasons later, in "Give 'Em Hell, Hawkeye," he writes a letter to Truman, begging for him to stop the Korean war. He explains how dire the situation is and that the peace talks need to take place.

6. Christine Campbell, The New Adventures of Old Christine. For someone who is hardly motivated about anything, Christine founded her college's Democrats group. She doesn't talk about her political beliefs specifically all that much, though in the early season 4 episode "White Like Me," she does point out to Richard that she's a Democrat (and also says that's why she won't take alimony). She also drives a Prius, liberally drinks wine, and marries a woman for a short period of time, if you want to further stereotype a character who thoroughly stereotypes throughout the series.

5. Winnie Cooper, The Wonder Years. Winnie genuinely cares about stopping the war, as it took away her brother far too early. So, she works for the McGovern campaign in 1972 ("Politics as Usual" in season six), and is genuinely sad that there are folks who won't take a leaflet about a guy who wants to end war, poverty, and pollution. She is swept up in wanting to see change in the world, and even meets the Senator, who loses by a landslide. The local head honcho, Mike, depresses Winnie further when he says that McGovern never stood a chance, and Kevin says their political views were forever changed that night. 

4. Dorothy Zbornak, The Golden Girls. Though she never comes out and says it, Dorothy is implied to be a Democrat - she supported both Mondale and Dukakis and planned to "tell off" George H. W. Bush about the educational system's flaws. Dorothy also believes in female independence and allowing immigrants to stay in the country as long as they're productive members of society.

3. Rory & Lorelai Gilmore, Gilmore Girls. In "Dear Emily and Richard," Lorelai thinks back to being pregnant with Rory, when she planned to register as a Democrat because it's so far from her parents' ideals. Multiple times throughout the series, Rory and Lorelai talk about their liberal thinking, solidified toward the end of the series as Rory goes to work as a reporter on Obama's campaign. 

2. Brian Griffin, Family Guy. A supporter of Dennis Kucinich, this dog is anti-religion, hates George W. Bush, served in the Peace Corps, believes that marijuana should be legalized, and supports gay marriage. He considers himself an intellectual (attended Brown University and all) who thinks global warming is man-made, yet he drives a Prius. Surprisingly, he did vote for John McCain.

1. Steven & Elyse Keaton on Family Ties. This show depended on the liberalism of the Keaton parents being contrasted with the conservatism of their children (except maybe Jennifer). They married young, joined the Peace Corps, had their first child, THEN went to college at Berkeley, when they had their second child. They often speak of protesting, Elyse is a hardcore, independent feminist, and Steven works in public television. Imagine his cries as Mitt Romney tries to assassinate Big Bird!


Honorable Mentions include Brian and Joe Hackett from Wings, Mary Richards from Mary Tyler Moore, Lindsey Weir from Freaks and Geeks, Eric Camden from 7th Heaven, and Shirley Feeney from Laverne & Shirley. Am I missing anyone?

News Roundup: Renewals & Return Dates All Around

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Renewals, Cancellations, & Scheduling:
South Park returns with Season 16 on March 14th, 2012. Eastbound & Down and Life's Too Short will premiere Sunday, February 19th, 2012. [Comedy Central Press Release]

FOX's Alcatraz will premiere at 8pm on Monday, January 16th. It will move to 9pm on the 23rd, and House will take the 8pm slot. Napoleon Dynamite will start Sunday, January 15th, at 8:30pm. Bob's Burgers will return March 11th at 8:30pm.

Pretty Little Liars was renewed by ABCFamily for a third season.

A.N.T. Farm was renewed by Disney Channel for a second season.

USA's Common Law will debut at 10pm on January 26th. White Collar will return on January 17th and Royal Pains will resume on January 18th.

Dance Moms will return to Lifetime on January 10th, 2012.

Undercover Boss will return for a third season on Sunday, January 15th.

Web Therapy has been renewed for a second season.

La La's Full Court Life was renewed for a second season on VH1.

Cast & Plot Updates:
Ricky Martin will guest on Glee in late January, as "the hottest Spanish teacher ever in the history of Ohio."

Michelle Duggar has miscarried the 20th child, who was set to debut on 19 Kids and Counting in April. Michelle was in her second trimester and it's believed that the family will hold a funeral once they find out if it was male or female.

Shows in Development & Other Fun Stuff:
Oxygen has three new docu-series in the works (all working titles). First, All the Right Moves, which is about friends living together and forming a dance troupe. Next, That's D'Amore, which looks at the lives of three sisters who live a privileged life thanks to their family's pizza business. Last, Taking NY, which follows some best friends trying to "have it all" in NYC. [Oxygen Press Release]

There's a great Burn Notice giveaway going on! One for Psych, too!

AMC has acquired the syndication rights to CSI: Miami, and it'll premiere on Monday, January 2nd, at 5pm, and will run in that slot on weekdays.

Dunder Mifflin will be a new brand of copy paper available through quill.com.

Harry Morgan, better known as Colonel Sherman Potter on M*A*S*H, has passed away at the age of 96.

If you're looking to get caught up Revenge or Once Upon a Time, ABC.com has all of the episodes of both up and available through January 3rd for the former and January 8th for the latter.

After House ends, Hugh Laurie will not take another television acting gig. He's thinking "writing or producing or directing or some other aspect."

Community will be featured on Hulu Plus now. Next-day access of new episodes will be available, as well as the entire back library.

There has been even more talk about Cable providers considering switching to a la carte subscriptions. [even though this particular article is two months old.]

On Live! with Kelly, Neil Patrick Harris snuck in a kiss to Betty White. [totally cute, by the way.] Also while guest-starring with Kelly Ripa, NPH and Kelly both inhaled sulfur hexafluoride, which has the opposite effect as helium!

I never knew that Saved by the Bell was cancelled every single season. Between that and not having the internet, it's no wonder that Mark-Paul Gosselaar and the rest of the SBTB gang managed to stay grounded! They didn't think anybody cared about the show!

Game of Thrones first season will be out on DVD March 6th, 2012.

ABCFamily has finished production on the new pilot Baby Daddy. Now, they're working on production for the new pilot Village People.

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!

Top 10 Guest Stars who became Regulars

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Ever watch a show and realize that a character just comes along and steals the show... over and over? It happens, and while it's not incredibly common, it's far from a rare occurrence. Today I'm going to give some examples of this character type, and feel free to suggest others that I might not have thought of.  

10. Mimi on The Drew Carey Show. Although I have only seen a couple episodes of this show, I am familiar with the character Mimi. I think that she is kinda synonymous with the show, and I was amused to find out that she wasn't originally intended to be a main character.

9. Spock from Star Trek. He was the only character carried over from the first pilot to the second for the television shows, and ended up becoming one of the most-identifiable characters in all of the Star Trek saga.

8. Elmo on Sesame Street. He was originally a background Muppet without a name, but has really become a mainstay fixture since the 90s. Who knew that a preschool speaks-in-the-third-person red monster would end up taking popularity from Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and the rest of the crowd?

7. Slimer from Ghostbusters. Yes, he's originally from the movie, but he was so popular in it that he became a major character in the television series. A one-hit ghost that even ended up with a flavor of HiC named for him... cool. Ecto Cool.

6. Sophia Petrillo on The Golden Girls. Originally, she was intended to be a supporting character... but tested so well that the writers included her as one of the main characters. Kinda funny when you think about how they eliminated Coco the housekeeper after a single episode... perhaps partially to give Sophia more of a role.

5. Butters Stotch from South Park. He fought so well with Cartman that he ended up a regular, and even got his own episode to give the audience more background on this nerdy, strives-to-please kid. Butters is unlike the other main characters in so many ways, yet he fits right in.

4. Carol Hathaway from ER. The well-known retcon that a suicide became just a coma. Carol went on to have an interesting run on the show, and everyone seemed to be rooting for her and Doug Ross (George Clooney's character) by the time she left the show. The final season revealing that they were still together was heartwarming.

3. Fonzie from Happy Days. Probably the best example of this idea, since they were considering renaming the show because of his popularity. Again, Fonzie was different from the main cast of characters on this show, but he managed to fit in and add a new angle on the retro show.

2. Maxwell Klinger on M*A*S*H. He was originally written just to get a laugh out of crowds at the crazy things that people did to try to get a Section 8 discharge from the armed forces. He ended up becoming a regular, continuing to fight for a discharge up until his time in the service was about over.

1. Urkel from Family Matters. This instance is my favorite. I can't really imagine how this show would've played out without Steve. And, when I was a kid, my family referred to this sitcom as "The Urkel Show." Oh, and were there toys made of any of the other characters? Because I had a friend who had that talking Urkel doll... and he was so dorky he was cool!  

so... who else fits this description?

10 Favorite Best Friendships

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Last Wednesday I was in Florida, having spent just about a week with various friends. The night before I left I had dinner with my two best friends and then we played Phase 10, our mutually favorite game. So, in honor of friendships, today we look at ten great pairs of best friends.

Now, before you look at this list, you kinda have to know that a) I specifically left out trios & ensembles, like Danny-Jesse-Joey on Full House, the six on Friends, the four on Seinfeld, the six/five on Saved by the Bell, the five on How I Met Your Mother, etc. b) there are some famous duos I've never seen, so I can't comment. This includes groups like Laverne & Shirley. c) I also left out shows that only focus on two individuals, like Square Pegs. And d) I didn't consider people who are work-friends only, since we rarely see them in a social setting.

I also struggled to find female-female best friends... and I'm not sure why. I came up with four or five female ensembles, but no one-on-one best friendships of note. Anyone think of any? I'm sure I'm just drawing a blank here, right??

10. Larry Appleton & Balki Bartokomous (Perfect Strangers) These two guys are thrown together by chance, really. Larry isn't thrilled with what's about to transpire, but he powers through and the two end up having a lot of fun over the run of the show. Balki's positive thinking and natural ability to find mischief keeps this pair on their toes. Sometimes you have to wonder what's keeping them together, but they are sure one hilarious pair to watch interact with each other and others!


9. Kevin Arnold & Paul Pfeiffer (The Wonder Years) Being a teenager is tough, and it's important to have a good best friend, especially one with whom you can learn about sex, deal with the woes of studying, rely on when times are tough, and turn to when all hope is lost. Kevin & Paul really go through the whole "coming of age" thing together, and although it's clear early on that their lives are destined for different paths, their friendship is always there. And, while we all know that girls tend to come between buddies as they get older, these two manage to get past the few such occurrences that happen in their lives.

8. Philip J. Fry & Bender (Futurama) Time, space, and species no longer matter in this one-of-a-kind friendship. Fry has a difficult time fitting in when he's fast-forwarded 1,000 years, and so his fellowship with robot Bender seems to come natural. Not to mention the fact that they met in a suicide booth, LoL. Neither of them are particularly bright, and both enjoy a good time causing mischief, so their pairing off fits the show well, and allows for a great number of storylines where their close-knit relationship is apparent but not overwhelming.

7. Hawkeye Pierce & BJ Honeycutt (M*A*S*H) If ever there was a pair who had more fun together trying to make the best of a bad situation, let me know! These two goons are absolutely hilarious together, and are always there for one another around camp. The tricks that they come up with to play on their fellow doctors and nurses are clever, and their banter in any given situation is comical. They may very well be the funniest duo on this list! Thank goodness for their sense of humor, because otherwise the war would have been much less exciting for the 4077th!

6. Michael Westen & Sam Axe (Burn Notice) Sam used to snitch on Michael... and not like you tell the teacher on a copycat. Sam was an informant for the FBI, haha. But, that was a long time ago and Michael is now a free agent, so he and Sam are free to be the best of buds. This is handy, since they can't seem to pull off their antics by themselves, really. The fact that they think fast on their feet is probably the biggest asset to their friendship, as one generally needs to bail out the other at a moment's notice... sometimes even less.

5. Gregory House & James Wilson (House, MD) For most of the series, it's not really known how many other friends these two have besides one another. The friendship is kinda one-sided, in that House mooches off of Wilson in every way one can think of, but Wilson takes it and is generous towards House. Wilson does do nice things for him, even if they're kinda out there... like drugging and kidnapping House to bring him to his father's funeral, LoL. All in a day's work for these doctors.


4. Will Truman & Grace Adler (Will & Grace) These two are just so good together, and have been from the get-go. They need each other to stay sane at times, but have proved that they can also function independently. They are probably the most similar in personality on this list, since they have a lot of common dislikes and hobbies, and are on the perfect wavelength to be one another's partner in games like Tribond (which is good, given hoe competitive Grace can be!). They do things for one another, large and small, time and time again, and it just warms my heart with how much consideration and compassion they have for each other. The fact that they seem to fall out of touch in the look-into-the-future at the end of the series just broke my heart.

3. Kimmy Gibbler & DJ Tanner (Full House) I learned a lot about friendship by watching Kimmy and DJ. There's always a prettier friend, there's always a smarter friend, and there's always a sluttier friend. While it's more often DJ putting her neck on the line for Kimmy than vice versa, their friendship stands out for the realism of it all. Kimmy changes a grade for DJ here, DJ helps Kimmy study for a Spanish test there, etc. Although, DJ does things with Kimmy for at least three of her birthdays on the show, whereas DJ really only has one major birthday on the show, and I always found that to be a bit weird. But, running off to Reno at a moment's notice to stop your best friend from marrying the wrong guy is probably one of the crowning friendship moments for this pair.

2. Tommy Pickles & Chuckie Finster (Rugrats) The adventures that these tiny tots get into are often remarkable, especially considering how fortunate they are that no adult is ever paying attention to them when the chaos is about to start or already in progress. Tommy and Chuckie would never turn their backs on one another, despite Chuckie often being portrayed as the coward of the group. They share everything, there's no adventure too treacherous, and we know that they remain best friends when they are pre-teens (All Growed Up).

1. Cory Matthews & Shawn Hunter (Boy Meets World) These two are the epitome of best friends. From middle school through high school to college, from one relationship to another to one's wedding and the other's constant family issues, no two friends can be closer than Cory and Shawn. I laughed with them, I cried with them, my heart was touched as they stumbled through some of life's biggest moments together. Shawn's continuous search for love and acceptance (through friends, girlfriends, parental figures, the cult...) is always aided by Cory's everlasting dependability, and Cory's always wanting to live more wildly and unpredictably is covered by Shawn's creative and devious nature.

Who's left out? I left out Tucker & Becca on (the old) Flash Forward, since you could argue that they don't do a lot for one another on a regular basis, and both had other "best friends," too.

Suicide is Painless

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I had done an extremely long entry last Thursday, for the Oscars, so I decided to hold off until today for the newest topic. Being a Monday, I'm featuring another long-running television show. And for anyone who might be wondering how long I continue doing this series, I'm thinking maybe another three months, maybe less. Depends on how many other television shows I'm familiar with that fit the bill. I'll start taking recommendations for future series, though!

Today, I chose M*A*S*H. It's kind of an older show, in that it was finished almost a year before I was even born. My parents were big fans, as was pretty much anyone else I think I ever knew... growing up, I don't think I ever saw the television switched to something else if M*A*S*H was on. I can remember being seven or eight and being confused that a name as strange as 'Radar' was used for both the "radio guy in the army hospital" (my own words) and Big Bird's stuffed teddy bear. This was further complicated by the song "Radar Love" that my parents had on cassette.

Okay, since the show ran for eleven seasons, from 1972 to 1983, there's kinda a lot to cover. Luckily, the meta-narrative of the show isn't that complicated, so I'll cover the major characters and what happened to them throughout the show's run. Now, I have not seen all 251 episodes, nor can I even estimate how many I might have seen, particularly since the characters don't seem to age. A few Christmases ago, I gave my mother the entire boxed series, and I hope to borrow them at some point, since my husband and I watch the show every now and then, and I'm kinda dying to see the finale (which I'll get to in a bit).

Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is what the title stands for, and the show takes place in such, during the Korean War. Somehow they filmed eleven years of episodes while covering an event that only lasted three years. It had consistently high ratings, and the final episode was watched by 105 million people, which still gives me chills when I think about it, especially considering it was a record two-and-a-half hours long.

First, the four characters who took part in all eleven seasons: Hawkeye Pierce, Father Mulcahy, Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, and Klinger. Hawkeye (Alan Alda's character) played in every episode, and was the joker of the group. Father Mulcahy was the resident priest, a source of morality, an aide in surgery, and fulfilled the notion that not everyone in the service was close to his family beforehand. Houlihan grew up an army brat who entered the service and had been in it for ten years by the time the fourth season of M*A*S*H rolled around. Unlucky in love and a hidden alcoholic, Houlihan could speak Korean and took her position seriously, being in charge of all nurses in the 4077. Klinger is one of my personal favorites, particularly because of his early attempts to get a Section 8 discharge by dressing in women's clothing. He also tried to eat a jeep, claimed to be a Communist, and said he was a serial killer in his hometown. When the war ended, he was married to a Korean woman, and chose to stay behind instead of returning to the US.

Radar O'Reilly is my other favorite. He is kinda clairvoyant, and has exceptional hearing, which is how he earned the nickname. An Iowa farmboy, he was very young, earning his high school diploma by mail in the first season. He represented the young boys who were shipped off to war, returning as men, symbolized by his leaving the teddy bear in Hawkeye's possession. Trapper John McIntyre was a sidekick to Hawkeye for the first three seasons, and made a surprise exit, without Hawkeye even knowing. BJ Hunnicutt came to replace Trapper, and I like him a lot better. The chemistry between him and Hawkeye is pretty great. I can only wait until the day I see "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" to fully appreciate the sentimentality of his final scene with Hawkeye.

I don't know what to say about Major Frank Burns. I'm not a fan, mostly because of how strict he was, and what an idiot he was. He was on there for the first five seasons, and was sent stateside because of a psychiatric evaluations after he went AWOL and couldn't get over Houlihan after she married Donald. But, Winchester came to stay until the end, with great reluctance. He was an odd guy with a passion for classical music.

Then there was Colonel Henry Blake, who was too easy-going for Houlihan and Burns, but pretty beloved by almost everyone else. I was a big fan of Blake, and was heartbroken when it was revealed that he never made it home (his plane carrying discharged Blake was shot down). Then there was Potter. He understood the need for humor, but wasn't as easygoing as Henry was.

It sure is an entertaining show, and while I haven't seen a lot of the episodes, I've also seen some of them several times. Particularly episode twenty in the first season... the one with a propaganda bomb in the compound at the same time as the annual Army-Navy football game, for some reason I've seen it at least three times. But, I leave you today with just a nice collage of photos from the show set to the full version of the theme song.