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?

2014 Comic-Con: Friday's TV Panels

Yesterday we saw television panels for three series and a scholarly approach. Today, our television panels included three for series, two for behind-the-scenes writing, and one on the translation of television to comics. Nope, this isn't exactly what we planned initially... we didn't make it to iZombie due to a time-ticketed exhibit, but learned that they weren't able to show the pilot in its entirety anyway (due to re-casting), so no major loss. We purposely chose to skip The Unexplained Files due to the additional information that was released describing the panel. But, we thew in another series and two different sessions discussing how pilots come to be, and what it takes to write one, so that's different. Included below are some highlights from these  events - look for more in-depth articles in the future. And, be sure to follow us on SmugMug, on Twitter or on Facebook for the latest throughout Comic-Con!

Writing for TV: From First Draft to Getting Staffed, with Spiro Skentzos, Karen Horne, Keto Shimizu, David Schulner, and David Slack.
- The more television you watch, the better you will be at identifying event triggers, character goals, and the stakes of a dilemma, which will improve a writer's ability to create those things.
- It's helpful to write a character description in both the first and third persons so you can get into their head and think of how they'll say things.
- You need more than just a spec script for a currently airing show and your pilot. Create content to showcase your abilities. With that, write what you know.

photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

The Chair: One Script, Two Visions, One Winner, with Zachary Quinto, Dan Schoffer, Josh Shader, Shane Dawson, and Anna Martemucci.
- Martemucci was paranoid about being filmed as she directed, knowing that similar things have wreaked havoc on families.
- Dawson really learned to be patient through this project. He's accustomed to just putting an ad on Craigslist, getting an actor, and paying them. Now, he had a month to cast, a budget to work with, etc.
- Dawson won't be leaving YouTube behind after eight years of videos, but he thinks he'll need to change it, even if that's just slowing down to one video each week.

photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

The 100 Special Video Presentation and Q&A, with Jason Rothenberg, Eliza Taylor, Isaiah Washington, Ricky Whittle, Lindsay Morgan, Devon Bostick, and Marie Avgeropoulos.
- The second season has fewer than 68 people alive. BUT, the title of the series doesn't refer to the number of people, but rather the name of the project.
- More information about the languages of the Grounders will come out - we even heard Avgreropoulos speak a bit in the tongue!
- Getting dirty happens much quicker than getting clean, so the actors don't mind wearing rags, because they're not spending hours in the makeup chair!
- If they had to spend a week with a castmate, Taylor would pick Bostick because he's funny, Whittle would pick Morgan because she can cook, and Avgreropoulos would pick Bostick because Canadians know how to survive!
- Most of the characters are now on the ground, so there will be some strange pairings in the near future. 

photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Falling Skies Season 4 Panel, with Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Sarah Carter, Maxim Knight, Doug Jones, Scarlett Byrne, and David Eich.
- Sarah calls the second half of the season "gnarly"!!
- Yet another variation on the species we've seen will come about.
- Bloodgood liked working with different actors this season, because although it was unfamiliar, it was also refreshing.
- Wyle thinks that the structure of this season allowed for a lot of the characters to develop their leadership skills.
- Anne will have a flashback to her life with a son.
- Patton noted that "Weaver feels a certain amount of things in his heart as Lexi makes him think about Jeanne." The character becomes one of Lexi's biggest proponents because of that. Also, he wants his character to have one more shot at love before the end of the series.
- Wyle hopes that Tom will get to be a founding father in the next society.
- Jones would like Cochise to understand what peace is and have a heart-to-heart with his father, then remain behind with his human friends. (and maybe move to Atlanta and become the head of programming at TNT, haha!)

photo: Amy K. Bredemeyer

Roar Comics: Saved by the Bell, Punky Brewster, and More, with Adam Staffaroni, Chynna Clugston Flores, Anne Toole, Lesley Vamos, and Brandon Easton.
- In the Punky Brewster comic, Henry becomes the title character's mother's cousin. I had never thought about society no longer accepting a young girl living with an elderly unmarried man!
- Henry's job has also been upgraded to him being a successful traveling photographer, so the storylines will take them out of Chicago.
- Original characters like Alan, Margeaux, Cherie, and Betty are still there.
- The Saved by the Bell comic maintains the Zack-Kelly-Slater love triangle.
- They will be starting a Care Bears comic book in 2015! Also, be on the lookout for Madballs and Packages from Planet X.

How to Write a Pilot, with Gray Jones, Jen Grisanti, William Rabkin, Bill Taub, and Carole Kirschner.
- Although it's tough to sell a pilot without being established, Extant was written by a nobody. Mad Men also didn't sell until the creator had done other things.
- Writing your own show demonstrates an original voice, which can be great... but some showrunners want to see people who write in their tone, so specs are sometimes better.
- With that, you should really have a dossier of 2-3 original pilots and a few spec scripts so if anyone wants to read more of your work, you have it available!
- The series Bible has gone from the 40 pages of the 90s to just 6-15 pages now, but you should still know everything about your characters.

photo: Jonathan Bredemeyer

* find more pictures of these panels, plus others, the exhibit floor, and off-site events at our SmugMug site!

My 2014 Comic-Con TV Panels

In a week, it'll all be over. San Diego Comic-Con (known by many simply as "Comic-Con") begins on Wednesday night at 6pm and runs until Sunday at 5pm. Plans for the convention begin over a year in advance, and the dates for the subsequent event are generally known before the current one ends. Online pre-registration for badges takes hours. Determining your hotel order for the lottery is a lengthy process. But what really takes time and effort is planning how you'll make the most of those four days... from panels to see to booths to visit, from autograph possibilities to sorting through shopping exclusives, from to sifting through film schedules to discerning the best off-site activities, the work involved is great. [flashback to our previous SDCC schedules: 2011, 2012, 2013.] And that's considering you've been before and don't need to learn how to get around San Diego, where to eat, and how the logistics of attending work.

Because of the amount of work involved (note that I haven't even mentioned the hours spent in lines yet), outsiders don't think Comic-Con is worth the hassle and expense. It is a pricey event (for starters, the vast majority of hotel options come in over $180/night), but it's also one of a kind. Repeat attendees share a camaraderie like no other; once you've been initiated into SDCC, you understand. You share a kindred spirit with all who swarm upon the San Diego Convention Center, whether they be comic book collectors, zombie fanatics, wannabe filmmakers, creative cosplayers, or another variety of pop culture junkie. Folks at Comic-Con appreciate the passion everyone has for something, regardless of whether there's overlap in interest, and that's what makes the ambiance of the environment truly special.

All of that said, I've painstakingly narrowed down my selections and made my schedule for how I will spend Comic-Con this year. I still have twelve television panels on my list, but I'm not going to be camping out in Ballroom 20 or 6 BCF all day to maximize my TV program exposure. Why? Because I have other interests, too, and can't wait for my geek-out moments, which inevitably happen (like after the Disney Afternoon panel last year).

So, without further ado, here are the television panels I'm hoping to see, tweet, and report on this year:

Thursday, July 24th
10:30-11:30am: Legends of TV Land (Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront), featuring Betty White, among others, who will answer questions about making history on television. Plus, a look at the animated episode of Hot in Cleveland.

11:30am - 12:30pm: Dig: A USA Network Event Series (Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront), an inside look at this fast-paced international thriller, with actors participating via satellite from Israel.

8-9pm: Psychology of Cult TV Shows (Room 23ABC), will feature several scholars and scientists and examine the cult followings of shows like Doctor Who, Firefly, and Buffy. As someone who has studied Rocky Horror cult fanatics, I'm especially interested in the scholars.

Friday, July 25th
11:30am-12:30pm: iZombie Pilot Screening and Q&A (Room6BCF), for the new CW series that will premiere midseason.

1:30-2:30pm: The Chair: One Script, Two Visions, One Winner (Marriott Hall 2), for the new Starz series. Both directors and the creator will be there, and scenes from the movies and the series will be shown. I've already written a little about this show, and look forward to more.

4:30-5:30pm: Falling Skies: Season 4 Panel (Room 6BCF), for what may very well be the final panel for this post-apocalyptic television show. I've seen the three before this one (2011, 2012, 2013), and while they're not groundbreaking and tend to show you a clip from the very next episode, they're a goof time.

5:30-6:30pm: Roar Comics: Saved by the Bell, Punky Brewster, and More (Room 8), because I love that some of my favorite characters are in serialized narrative format. Some announcements are also promised, so perhaps more television shows are going that way?

7-8pm: The Unexplained Files (Room 7AB), from Science Channel, will be taking a deeper look at stuff you can't believe. It's as simple as that, but still truly fascinating, plus there will be scholars, eye witnesses, and prizes.

Saturday, July 26th:
10-11am: Why Not Serious? Comedy vs. Drama in Animation (Room 9), caught my eye because I hadn't thought about how little action and adventure is in cartoons. I grew up with Danger Mouse, and The Awesomes is around, but the big 80s/90s X-Men, Batman, and the like aren't really there anymore, so I am interested in the theories as to why not.

5-6pm: The Digital Revolution: The Convergence of Television and the Internet (Indigo Ballroom, Hilton Bayfront), will hopefully offer more information than I've already been learning lately about how ratings are changing and people are "cord-cutting."

8-11pm: Warner Bros. Television and DC Entertainment: The Flash, Constantine, Arrow, and the World Premiere of Gotham (Hall H) may be too tough to get into, as the Gotham pilot is very highly anticipated, plus a full viewing of The Flash will also entice people, but I'm game to try.

Sunday, July 27th:
10:15-11:15am Sesame Street & Pop Culture: 45 Years of Spoofs on the 'Street' (Room 6A) is near and dear to by heart. Two new parodies (on Comic-Con and Star Wars, no less!), plus looking at how popular culture has influenced the iconic show, with muppeteers on the panel.

Yeah, you probably noticed that there are quite a few gaps in this schedule... so what else am I planning on seeing, panel-wise? Well, Thursday features a Hanna-Barbera offering I don't want to miss, plus a Goonies discussion, and a look at retro 90s stuff. Friday and Saturday I'll hit a little of the Film Festival for a little bit of old-time Disney magic, plus take in a few how-to sessions about writing television shows. And Sunday I'm back at my old scholarly ways with an anthropological study panel, plus the making of the LEGO movie. Keep checking back as we report on the many distinct facets that make up Comic-Con!

RETURNING: The Exes: Phil and Eden's Relationship

I understand why characters within ensembles wind up becoming "involved" with one another, as it's been happening since my earliest television viewing - Who's the Boss and Saved by the Bell being examples. But, I still don't have to like it. Why not bring in new characters for this purpose, like Mike for Phoebe on Friends? Or Amy and Bernadette on The Big Bang Theory? Back to The Exes, Phil and Eden's relationship didn't last too terribly long, but because of each person's close relationship with Holly, their paths will inevitably have to cross, forcing awkward moments and sexual tension. I'm hoping for some hilarity out of this, but I also think that there will be complications that aren't so great. Still, let's look at the various issues that frustrated the couple while they were together...

The Exes "True Lies" (S03E11): Haskell simply congratulates Phil for being intimate with Eden, but Stuart wants to talk about it. [of course he does.] Holly is upset with Eden until she apologizes, but the girls start chatting it up, and Eden admits to faking orgasms to keep Phil feeling good about himself. Holly soon blabs this to Stuart and Haskell, the latter of whom has been faking food orgasms over the former's meals. [that was weird.] Stuart, in a huff, tells Phil, who immediately confronts Eden, who, in turn, lies, saying that she had to make up something to get things right with Holly. This placates Phil, but Holly de-friends Eden over it, thinking Eden is lying to her. Meanwhile, Haskell tries to apologize to Stuart, then breaks out a lie detector to get to the bottom of everything. But, Eden won't take it. [can't blame her. I wouldn't volunteer for one of those, either!] She admits to "faking it," meaning that she lies to Phil, not Holly. Eden dumps Phil because dating him is like dating the whole group, but they make up shortly thereafter. [seeing her tiny place was kinda interesting.]  

The Exes "How the Grinch Spent Xmas" (S03E12): It's Christmas Eve and Phil is worried about what to get Eden to send the "right" message, so he plans to find out what she got him, then match it. [like Sheldon with Penny! and haha at Stuart's Listerine under the mistletoe!] Phil puts Haskell in charge of figuring it out, and he learns it's a hot, sexy video, sop Phil decides to follow suit with a striptease.

Holly is traveling from London and meets a great guy on the plane and invites him to join the party. However, he can't get through Customs and Border Protection because his passport has been flagged, so she wants to spend Christmas in the airport, upsetting the gang. [uh, yeah!] This causes a chain reaction, as Eden and Phil wanted to spend the holiday in a cabin in Vermont, and Haskell wanted to go home to his mother. The trio decides to placate Stuart a bit before taking off, but rushing through his planned activities means they quickly learn that Holly gave awesome gifts this year. [awwww!] They decide to pack up the seven-course meal and head to the airport to support Holly in her search for love. [that's really sweet!] Meanwhile, at the airport, the guy finds out that he'll be allowed in the country of Costa Rica, so he asks Holly to accompany him. The gang shows up at the airport and can't find her, but continue giving gifts - Eden gave Phil workout clothes, not a sex tape, and that offends him. [haha!] Phil winds up sending everyone the sexy video he made, not just Eden. [haha, his Nana!]

The Exes "Nothing in Common" (S03E13): A woman named Donna hits on Phil at the bar, and it turns out that she wants a three-some with Phil and Eden. [how random!] Eden says that she'll consider it, but only after having a drink, getting to know the woman, etc. The night starts off on the right foot, but the woman soon starts bawling, and Phil makes things awkward. [I can't handle people who are that attached to pets. I just roll my eyes and walk away.] 

facebook.com/TheExesTV

Stuart's sister, Nicki, shows up, upset that her husband of 17 years has cheated on her, though she doesn't know the details. Haskell is interested in the woman, stuttering in her presence. Stuart heads to Staten Island to talk to his brother-in-law, Tommy, but discovers that the cop is cheating on Nicki with a man, which is why he won't try counseling. [ooooh...] When Stuart tells Nicki, she's overly surprised, but does decide to return home to talk to her husband.

The Exes "Bachelor Party" (S03E14): Phil has been named among the top ten most eligible bachelors in NYC, but Eden doesn't consider him "eligible," causing a rift. [why is he that "wanted" ? he JUST started his own business, so it can't be that successful yet!] The gang is excited to attend, and Holly gets her eyebrows done... only to have them completely removed! [omg!] Eden puts some on her, but they're not steady, causing Holly's flirting at the party to go just as awry. [too much for me, though.] Eden decides to go to the party after all, to be supportive (but really to spy on Phil). But, she has to act like she's not with Phil, so she decides to hang out with her friends for the night. Later, when the two talk about their relationship, they realize that Phil is committed, but Eden is not, so they decide to just be friends. [an anti-climactic ending to their relationship!]

Stuart thinks he sees Sabrina at the bar, but it turns out to be her twin sister, Julie. Haskell wonders if it's really Sabrina, playing a fast one on Stuart, so the dentist decides to check for a tattoo to make sure. However, he is caught using a dental mirror to look up her skirt during the tango, so that ends. [what are the odds she'd know how to tango? he does find out that she really was a twin, though!]

Also, Haskell tries "height helpers" at the party, but he falls over and quickly loses his chances with the woman he was wooing.

Big Bang: Sheldon, Sheldon, Sheldon

The show centering around Sheldon (and, thus, Jim Parsons' acting prowess) gets annoying. It's like when Saved by the Bell would be so Zach-centric that the other characters spent episodes with hardly a mention. Both are ensemble shows, and with a larger ensemble on this comedy as time goes on, it's better not to focus on the same character episode after episode. Granted, in the Christmas episode, Sheldon was used more as a plot device to offer the other characters and viewers alike a chance to look at what could have been, but I'd still prefer more focus on the others, and more interaction with Sheldon that the usual Leonard, Amy, and maybe Penny. Why couldn't Howard or Raj do something with Sheldon once in a while?

The Big Bang Theory "The Discovery Dissipation" (S07E10): Sheldon is interviewed on the radio about his element discovery, as he is now being considered for a Nobel Prize in chemistry. He's still upset about it all being an accident, so Amy brings Wil Wheaton over to talk to him... Wil never liked the attention for being on Star Trek as a child, because people didn't always like him. [you know, I reallllly need to track down an episode of Star Trek with him in it! I still have no idea what they reference when they talk about him on the show as a child!]

Michael Yarish/Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. © 2013 WBEI. All rights reserved.

However, Leonard re-ran the tests, and figured out that the element DOESN'T actually exist. Sheldon is upset, but soon retracts his paper. [loved that Sheldon sided with Penny to be against Leonard, even though he didn't understand her comparison!] Leonard and Sheldon are invited to the radio show, but Sheldon cuts off Leonard. [as one would expect!]

Raj's apartment is being tented, so he and his dog stay with Howard and Bernadette for a week. [I forgot about his dog!] Raj is nicer to Bernadette than Howard is, making things awkward. The married couple airs some grievances, like Howard wanting Bernadette to pack his lunches with cute notes, and Bernadette wanting Howard to compliment her and help out around the house. [haha that Raj headed to Leonard's!]

The Big Bang Theory "The Cooper Extraction Theory" (S07E11): Amy and Penny are playing a Wii game while Leonard nurses a sprained ankle. When Sheldon is invited to play, the group learns that he is headed to Texas for the birth of his sister's baby. With Sheldon gone, everyone is free to trim the tree without rules, though Sheldon does Face-Time (or Skype?) quite frequently throughout the gathering. Stuart comes over, and everyone talks about watching It's a Wonderful Life, then wonders about what life would be like if Sheldon was never born. In the alternate reality, nobody would know Amy, who is left to celebrate birthdays alone (omg, I could cry!), Leonard wouldn't have had the courage to ask out Penny at the Cheesecake Factory (therefore Howard - who killed his mother - wouldn't have met Bernadette), Penny would be hot for Sheldon, and Raj would have moved in with Leonard and made such delicious meals that they both got fat. [Stuart trying to add himself into stories was funny. Stuart being Penny's boyfriend in the Fat-Leonard scenario was weird.] The group realizes that Amy has made a deep impact on Sheldon, as he listens to her. [plus, SHE was the one he kept contacting!] Leonard shows Amy that she's on Sheldon's screensaver, which touches her. [why did Sheldon say that he had a lot of tv to catch up on?]

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: Saved by the Bell

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Something short and fun for today's throwback. One of my friends posted a link to a Jimmy Fallon interview (that's almost two years old already), but since I'm not a big fan of late-night talk shows, I didn't really feel like clicking. BUT, then I read her comment about the fact that he was interviewing Zack Morris. Not Mark-Paul Gosselaar, but Zack Morris himself. So, I decided to give it a look, and it was pretty funny. They make a lot of jokes about things that took place on the classic teen hit Saved by the Bell, and I only caught one factual error: Zack and Jessie like each other when they're doing the play Snow White, not Sleeping Beauty. Otherwise, it's really rather funny for an old-school SBTB fan like myself. And, before you ask, YES, Zack does bust out his cell phone AND he does one of his famous time-outs! Oh, and if you were a fan of the song, "Friends Forever," make sure you watch til the end!

The best clip is on Hulu, which doesn't offer blog embedding, so click here to check it out. 

What do you think? Amusing? Are you excited about the reunion... if it ever happens?

Favorites Episodes: Saved By the Bell

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

In the Saved by the Bell canon, it is understood that Good Morning, Miss Bliss takes place before the main show, regardless of the fact it's a different school in a different state, with mostly different kids. So, I count it with the four seasons of the show (don't let the DVDs lie to you and say there's 5 seasons, that's NOT TRUE!), and the College Years season. But NOT The New Class, because although it has Screech and Belding, it's a different show. Today we look at my favorite moments with Zack, Kelly, Jessie, Slate, Screech, and Lisa. I think these choices are sorta average, so please comment on your own faves!!

Good Morning, Miss Bliss: Let's Get Together. Toward the end of the series' run, this episode focuses on the friendships of Nikki and Zack and of Miss Bliss and Tina. Tina gets dumped and moves in with Miss Bliss, getting on her every nerve, while Zack and Nikki have a class project to do but struggle in working together. I love Zack's quick thinking in the end, genius. Whole episode here.



Season 1: The Friendship Business. This one got replayed quire a bit, I feel. It's the one where the class has an assignment to create and sell products. Friendship bracelets and buddy bands are all fun and games... until Belding starts sporting one. Great conniving in this one, and a good representation of how the characters fit together. Whole ep.

Season 2: The Babysitters. Kelly has to care for her baby brother, so she takes him to school with her. Let's not judge. It's yearbook photo day, so the gang keeps handing off the baby as each needs to be in various class and club photos. Of course the baby gets lost in the shuffle, hehe. Whole ep.

Season 3: Cut Day. There were a lot of memorable episodes in this season, but I always love watching the wool get pulled over Belding's eyes. Zack having to get to and from campus each class period is ridiculous... I think that adds to it. Can't find zilch on this one, tho!!

Season 4: Screech's Birthday. Another one devoted to pulling one over on Belding... this time the girls act as a single student with multiple personalities, Screech becomes an arrogant hall monitor, and Screech's robot talks. In full.

Saved by the Bell: The College Years: Rush Week. The guys want to get into the same fraternity, while Kelly and Alex girls hope for rival sororities. But that's not in the cards, as the girls get into second-choice houses, and the guys won't join unless all three get in. Can't find this one online, either.

Final Five Christmas Episodes!

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Tiny Toon Adventures: "It's a Wonderful Tiny Toons Christmas Special." (1992) It has a unique adaptation of the classic theme song. The characters are putting on a show, and there's a bunch of jokes about other television hits at the time (like Full House and Family Matters). They spoof carols, stories, celebrities, and It's a Wonderful Life, among other things.
This is the opening clip. Maybe not the funniest part of the special, but it includes the theme song, LoL. You can watch all three parts by the same member, so go ahead if you have twenty-two minutes. It's a decent time, haha.


Saved by the Bell: "A Home for Christmas." This used to run all the time... the gang meets a homeless girl named Laura, who works at the mall with Kelly. She gets accused of shoplifting a gift for her father, and then runs away. This clip shows the group finding her and bringing her and her dad back to the Morris house for Christmas.


ER: "All About Christmas Eve." (2005) Abby tells Luka that she is pregnant. Haleh is having auditions to sing. Pratt does a "scared straight" thing for kids after a girl is shot and killed by a random bullet. There's a rude Santa who insults people, and once he turns his anger on a group of blind children, Eve gets violent, and subsequently fired. Sam takes Alex to visit his dad in prison. I wish I had the Eve clip, but this one has the Abby storyline (including her audition with "Silent Night" LoL).


Full House: "Our Very First Christmas Show." (1988) The Tanners are headed to Colorado for the "First Annual Tanner Christmas Reunion" (which never happens again in the series). Stephanie is afraid that Santa won't find her. Due to inclement weather, it turns out the family is stuck at the airport for Christmas Eve. The 1988 laptop is also very interesting, haha (although there is one point where the guys are looking at it... sorta invasion-of-privacy-style, LoL). Between that and Zack's cell phone above, it's rather ridiculous to remember the history of technology, LoL. Jesse has a great little speech in there, too.

Watch Full House 2x09 - Our Very First Christmas Show in Drama | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: "Deck the Halls." (1990) Ashley is spending her Christmas vacation doing educational things, Carlton is rehearsing with his a capella group, Hilary is spending extravagant amounts on celebrities, and Will is trying to get everyone into the Christmas spirit. Vivian allows Will to help Ashley decorate the tree, but the designer items that the Banks' had in mind aren't what Will decides to use. The neighbors get furious at the "K-Mart" look of the exterior, and demand everything be taken down. Even Holyfield shows up to take on Will. Then, the house wins a kids' pick award, but it isn't until the PRESIDENT shows up that they realize that it isn't really hurting anybody. I can't get it to embed, but you can watch the episode in its entirety here.

Top 10 Man-Whores

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

As a follow-up to Top 10 TV Sluts, I thought it would be fitting to do something similar with male television characters as well.

10. Zack Morris (Saved by the Bell). While we don't know how many girls he actually had sex with, the promiscuity of his character is a major part of his personality throughout all three series. One-daters are frequent, and include many of his close friends as well as people we only see once. Notable gals: Shana, Kelly, Stacy, Tori, Leslie.



9. Jack McFarland (Will & Grace). The sole gay man to make the top ten, Jack considers nearly every "relationship" serious, regardless of how short it is. Many of his conquests have no names, and many are one-night stands. He hits on many men, and his reputation among his friends is that he sleeps around. Notable men: Stuart.







8. Will Smith (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). While his sexually active status is not consistent throughout the series, he definitely makes it known that he has a way with the ladies and that he's keeping it real (yep, I know that line is from Smart Guy). But let's not lie, he was pretty fly for a high schooler. Notable women: Mimi, Kayla, Kathleen, Jackie, Lisa.


7. Tony DiNozzo (NCIS). More of a flirt than a follow-through player, but he'll flirt with pretty much any and every woman he encounters. His approach changes a little bit throughout the seasons, but his womanizing nature is probably here to stay. Women: Ari, Michelle, Paula, Jeanne.








6. Luka Kovac (ER). I find it intriguing that a man who lost his virginity on his wedding night became such a hotshot after the war killed his family. I can't even remember some of the names of the women he has had relations with. And he's not known for ending them on a positive note, either. Notable women: Carol, Chuny, Sam, Abby.


5. Gavin "Spinner" Mason (Degrassi: The Next Generation). I think of him as a player... but definitely one of the least attractive on the list, and not just physically. But he hasn't had the easiest life, and we all know how that goes, especially on sitcoms. Notable women: Paige, Manny, Darcy, Jane.

4. Jesse (Cochran) Katsopolis (Full House). I think that everyone understood him to be a ridiculous womanizer. Most of the gals seemed to only last an episode or so, and it was rather common that we'd see "old girlfriends," like when he ran away to Tahoe, when he went on the fishing trip, and various band episodes. At least he calmed down. Memorable ladies: Corrina, Cheryl, Denise, Becky.



3. Joey Tribbiani (Friends). He comes in at #3, surprisingly. At first I figured he would be at the top of the list, what with his "how YOU doin'?" and other antics, but it turned out that there's actually a few men worse than he is in this department. Anyway, without further ado, here's the only girls whose names I could remember... Angela, Melanie, Erin, Kathy, Kate, Katie, Lorraine, Charlie.


2. Glenn Quagmire (Family Guy). Yep, animation near the tip-top of the list. How many times have we seen MULTIPLE women coming out of Quagmire's house or car? Yep, I can't count, either. Names aren't important, and neither is ethnicity, body type, or even age to some degree. Named women: Joan, Loretta.

1. Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother). Barney has slept with over 200 women. He doesn't remember them all, but keeps a scrapbook. He also ends up having to create a bracket system to try and figure out who might have bad-mouthed him! He almost always sneaks out after a single night of sexual encounters, and he has jokes, catchphrases, and codes for his lifestyle. Some named women: Shannon, Rhonda, Robin

Didn't make the list but you could argue that he should have: Ricky Underwood (The Secret Life of the American Teenager). He has Adrian, Amy, (almost) Grace, and a reputation quite long at school and band camp.

Top 10 Disappearing Characters

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

This is a category that is up for much debate. For instance, on Saved by the Bell, most of the secondary characters appear on less than four episodes.

10. Chuck Cunningham. The obvious choice, since the idea of missing characters has become synonymous with "the Chuck Cunningham Syndrome." (He was Ritchie's older brother on Happy Days in the event you don't know what I'm talking about)

9. Jenny Kelly. The name probably doesn't ring a bell, but she was a best friend to Sabrina (The Teenage Witch) for the first two seasons. She even co-crushed on Harvey. But she was dropped like a hot potato with no explanation or warning!

8. Judy Winslow. Honestly, I watched Family Matters in original run and it took me a good season or so to realize that she was missing. (Cousin Richie also vanishes, as does Waldo, but that's beside the point...)

7. Bob on Becker. While Reggie's write-off was stupid (she went to travel through Europe for TWO YEARS with friends after sleeping with Becker...), Bob's was practically invisible. Jake mentions at one point that Bob had gone on vacation, but that's the only mention audiences have, with no big departure from Bob at all.

6. Maggie from A Different World. Maggie was Marisa Tomei character's, a military brat who was Denise's roommate during the "sophomore season." Come Season 2, no more Maggie. Probably because she wasn't black, and they were going for realism at an HBCU.

5. Eric, Jessie Spano's stepbrother. He was in two episodes, and in the end he decided to stay in LA, and make a life in California instead of New York. But in the next episode, he's gone without a trace. um, what? I guess he wasn't "Saved" by the Bell.

4. Sara Spooner. You know, Carrie's little sister on King of Queens? She even moved in with Doug and Carrie at the same time Arthur did - she got the office and he got the basement. But, after the sixth episode of this long-running series (207 episodes in all), she vanished. What's worse, it pretty much seems like Carrie is an only child after that!

3. Minkus. He made a good classmate to Cory and Shawn on Boy Meets World, and a good opposite after Topanga became cool instead of dorky. But the weirdest thing about it is the reappearance he makes at the end of the high school years, where he claims he's been there all along, just taking classes in a different hallway.

2. Brendan Lambert. You remember him... the littlest boy on Step by Step. He was cute, but other than sharing his birthday with his dad's wedding, he really didn't get many storylines to himself. What was even more amusing is that they age Lily so she's five years old, yet Brendan gets cut for being just a few years older.

1. Steven Floyd and Ruth Ann Torkelson. Of The Torkelsons five children, two of them disappear and are never mentioned when the remainder of the family moves from Pyramid Corners, Oklahoma to Seattle. Technically the show was then called Almost Home, but it kept the same story idea and such, so it should have included the entire family.

Possibly worth mentioning: Denise, who plays Little Richard's niece on Full House, disappeared as Michelle's best friend. But Teddy is still there (as is Aaron), as are newcomers Derek and Lisa.

Maybe High School is Better...

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

...than college. At least the gang at Saved by the Bell seemed to think so. I mean, after all, they did 87 high school episodes but only 19 in college (I don't consider the middle school 13 episodes to really be SBTB due to the completely different settings, but that's another story). And that's not even considering the sequel show, The New Class.

I seriously doubt that anyone who reads a television blog has never seen Saved by the Bell. It ran on Saturday mornings originally, and I'm not sure if it's EVER been out of syndication on early mornings and afternoons on channels like TBS. In fact, one of my favorite episodes was on this morning (in the 8:30am slot), the one where Zack and Jessie do Snow White and the Seven Dorks.

The show was one of those late eighties-early nineties pioneers into teenage programming, and while it never explicitly dealt with sexual relationships, vague references were made here and there. I never thought the material was that deep, but I did have a friend in sixth grade whose parents wouldn't let her watch the show because of its themes. It was immensely popular during its run, and the final episode aired in primetime (it might have been the very first series finale I ever had to ask my parents to stay up and watch... I was only 9!), with the pilot for The College Years running right afterward.

I really enjoyed SBTB:TCY, and thought it did a lot toward addressing the characters getting older and handling more mature situations. My only real gripe about the setup of the new rendition was that the guys and gals shared a suite, which kinda gives the idea that boys and girls could/should live together. (Minor nitpick, I think it was rude of Tiffani-Amber Thiessen to NOT do the "final thirteen" episodes of SBTB, but then she signed on for TCY... but whatever.)

There were a lot of continuity issues (which really seem apparent when you watch the "Graduation" episode and the College pilot back-to-back), mainly the fact that the gang was going to different colleges originally, but somehow Kelly, Screech, Zack, and Slater all end up at the same place (I'll be nice and not touch the fact that there's no way Kelly would've found housing that easily). I was upset that they wrote out Essence Atkins' character (I loved her later in Smart Guy) out of the show, and that took away a big diversity factor (well, as big as it could be when you remember that in the original series, Lisa was the richest girl in school with very successful parents). I included the only photo of her on the show I could find, seen with RA Mike. TCY didn't do well, and was canceled after one season (allowing Tiffani-Amber to do 90210 and Dustin Diamond to do SBTB: The New Class).

Why was it canceled? It had really bad ratings... as in, every single episode finished in the bottom five of all primetime network shows every week. But why would it have bad ratings if the high school edition was so popular? There's a few different ideas on this issue... one of which is the stories. They weren't as cut-and-dried as the original series, and many longtime fans didn't appreciate the fact that Zack was going after Leslie when Kelly was available! Another idea: when it was airing. First of all, it started running against Full House, which was ABC's family powerhouse of the time. Another reason: it got move3d around a lot... it kept being moved (Saturday night is never going to be a good time slot for a show about college kids!), and was preempted at least five times for other broadcasts.

One last nitpick: the two-hour "Wedding" special isn't included on the SBTB:TCY series DVD set.

"20 Killable Characters?"

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

so today's topic stems from today's news. One of the first things I read this morning was "Top 20 Sitcom Characters You'd Kill in Real Life." And I must say that I severely disagree. We must have very different opinions on personas, the other blog writer and I. I'm going to argue why I wouldn't kill the character, rather than nitpick on why the other writer would.

20. Frasier Crane. Awesome guy to have around in real life. He knows EVERYTHING. Definitely worth a phone-a-friend slot on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

19. Joey Gladstone. While I wouldn't want to moocher living in my home for an extended period of time, he's pretty darn funny. The common sense, notsomuch, but I'm not worried about him diapering my imaginary baby with paper towels and ziplocs, so no worries.

18. Larry David. I've never seen Curb Your Enthusiasm, and I don't even know when it was on (is it still??), so no comment.

17. Cosmo Kramer. clearly the blogwriter has no spontaneous friends in his life. I love the craziness of people like my friend Joe, and their unexpected popping in and continual "great ideas" are something to be admired.

16. Marie Barone. I'm gonna agree here. The woman has no redeeming qualities. Hell, when she wanted more grandchildren, she bought her son wine and silk boxers, and gave his wife romantic CDs! Does pushy get much worse?

15. Archie Bunker. Agreed again. I can't stand his closed-minded bullsh!t. It drives me insane. In fact, I tried to get into this show at one point when it was big on Nick-at-Nite, but it just wasn't happening. Bigotry blows.

14. Carlton Banks. I think he's quirky. I also love perfectionists. I can relate to the idea of "all-nighters" in high school. He doesn't strike me as incredibly annoying, especially when you consider his stupid jokes ended after the first season, and became much more bearable.

13. Roseanne Connor. Sure, she's foul-mouthed. And I don't know that I'd want her as my mother. But I don't think that she's a bad person, and while I'd much rather have Jackie as a friend, I don't know that she'd truly "annoy" me.

12. Cindy Brady. Little sisters can be annoying, but Cindy never had any real storylines of her own (what, the tonsils thing? losing Kitty Cariole? the see-saw record with Bobby? what else was there?), so she really didn't have a major role. In a real-life scenario, there's not much harm in having a baby sister when there are already enough siblings to make you miserable from time to time.

11. Sheldon Cooper. I still have not seen even one minute of The Big Bang Theory, so I can't comment.

10. Phoebe Buffay. What? seriously? I'd love to have her as a daily plant in my life! I love to hear about the lives of those who grew up in crazy-different backgrounds. I love the unconventional hairstyles and clothing choices she had. Please, pour me a mocha and sit me on the couch, there's no way I'd off Phoebe.

9. Michael Scott. He's from the office, and I'm guessing he's Steve Carell's character. But I still don't know a thing about him.

8. Kimmy Gibbler. hmmm. now this is a toughie. She was pretty annoying on the show, and if she was my friend/neighbor in real life, I'm pretty sure it would drive me mad. Especially when you consider the crazy things that her family did, that would annoy anyone in a mile radius!

7. Lucy Ricardo. See here's the thing... yeah, she was a pretty big ditz, but women weren't portrayed as the pinnacle of intelligence at that time anyway. Either way, she was whiny, and I don't deal with that. agree.

6. Fred G. Sanford. he's a really mean old man. a codger, even. but it's not like he leaves his house much, so he doesn't have a lost of opportunities to bother you. No killings.

5. Steve Urkel. Yeah, I could see how he could get on absolutely every last nerve, but death is not an appropriate sentence. Lock your doors, hide your daughters, and call it a day.

4. The Janitor. I don't do Scrubs.

3. Screech Powers. It sure is handy to have a friend who can concoct devices in the blink of an eye with very little to work with. It's also great to have a scapegoat who can pull the wool over the Principal's eyes. the only downside that's coming to mind? he can't keep a secret. but neither can several of my friends. so don't keep them filled in and you're good to go.

2. Fran Fine. this is a tricky one. She had a unique sense of mind. A flirty nature. An eccentric mother. A nasally voice. A tacky wardrobe. A skewed view of life. I think she's very "take it or leave it," since there's nothing that sets her apart on either end of the spectrum... she's just balanced out in the middle, plain as day.

1. Gilligan. In my world, I don't live on a deserted island ninety minutes from the nearest bit of civilization. So the buffoon's charm at foiling escape plans isn't as problematic for me. However, he does sort of embody a kind of immature nuisance that I don't know I'd want to deal with forever...

Overall, I disagree with this list a LOT. Who would I kill, you ask? Well, I'd start off with Taub from House, MD, because he's useless, spineless, and boring. Cheryl from 7th Heaven, she was dumb and had no ambition. Plus, she stopped Matt from being with nicer, prettier girls. And there's Beverly Hills, 90210, definitely Valerie Malone, hands down. I hated her from like the second episode she was in, and I really tried to like her, since I was a big Tiffani Amber-Thiessen fan in the 90s. What an evil, sinister girl. And to finish off the list, all four girls from Sex and the City: Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda. That show's attitude alone just kills me.

My Top Ten Television Crushes

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

10. Jesse Spencer.... he plays Dr. Chase on House, MD, and he's the only one on this list which I didn't crush on as a teenager, but instead a twentysomething. But with that hair and the Aussie accent, I can't help but think he's cute.







9. Leonardo DiCaprio... I was in high school when Titanic was big. I wrote a paper on the costumes in Man in the Iron Mask. I loved him in Romeo + Juliet. But before that, this heartthrob first caught my eye as Luke in Growing Pains, playing one of Mike's students. I think it's his eyes that truly capture my fill attention.





8. Lee Thompson Young... He played Jett Jackson in the eponymous show. He made a later appearance in Akeelah and the Bee, and was also in Johnny Tsunami, a Disney Channel original. I love his face... the structure is just beautiful, his skin is lovely, and his smile lights up a room.

7. Jonathan Taylor Thomas... many people would have placed them higher in this list. And although I loved his antics in Home Improvement, I'll Be Home for Christmas, Tom and Huck, Wild America, and Man of the House, I think it's funy he was still doing voices in 2000 (The Tangerine Bear). He's not higher in my mind because, as a fourth-grader, every other girl I knew also crushed on him, and that would ruin my chances... so I decided to focus on hotties I'd have a better chance at actually having to myself, haha.

6. Brian Austin Green... the flaw here is that he's got ten years on me. And although he wasn't as "famous" as Jason Priestly and Luke Perry on Beverly Hills, 90210, I thought he was definitely cuter. And he was so talented (I fall for musicians, what can I say?). He did sleep around though, and that hurt his chances at being my #1 crush.

5. Erik von Detten... not sure that many others really thought he was hott. Most recently he was in Princess Diaries (although that's kinda old now), and the voice of Lawson in Recess (he also was the voice of Sid in Toy Story for that matter). He was also in that junky So Weird that I mentioned last week. But, he attracted me in Brink!, even though he was an airhead, he was an airhead who could skate (and in 1998, skaters were hott). And I've seen that movie at least 25 times (and I don't actually even own it!). Oh, and he was in Escape to Witch Mountain, too.

4. Mark-Paul Gosselaar... first of all, he's only attractive as a blonde. He's also only cute as a young actor. So aside from his roles in Good Morning, Miss Bliss and the later Saved by the Bell (College Years) series, he does nothing for me. But, he fulfilled that desire to want a trickster. And he aged well, from 14 to 20 anyway.





3. Zachery Ty Bryan... he was my preferred crush on Home Improvement, and I could never get enough of his hair. In the final seasons he was pretty much ideal, being a soccer player and all. IMDB shows that he has done a lot since his childhood days, but the only thing I've seen him in is ER, where he played a frat boy who got a pledge drunk or something. He had a great role as First Kid, but that's pretty much the only big thing he aside from playing oldest brother Brad (also a hott name) on Home Improvement for over 200 episodes.


2. Matthew Lawrence... you can see him as a tyke in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and as a young teen in Mrs. Doubtfire. But it was really in Brotherly Love (and a few movies where he starreds alongside his cute brothers Joey and Andy) that he began to shine. His character was easy to like in Angels in the Endzone. As Jack Hunter in the final three seasons of Boy Meets World, he was just adorable. I loved his hair and smile and clothing.

1. Rider Strong... yep. Absolutely adorable. From day 1 on Boy Meets World, I was hooked. His hair was the epitome of beauty to which I judged all other male heads for years. He also had great lips. And lovely eyes. And great lines in the show, for that matter. ;)