Fun Friday: Find Your Inspiration

On January 10th, 1991, the "War and Peace" episode of A Different World aired. The Persian Gulf War was imminent, combat started just days later, and "Operation Desert Storm" wrapping up the following month. The episode deals with Dwayne's longtime friend and A Different World one-time character Zelmer Collier returning to Hillman for a final weekend of fun before shipping out to the Middle East. He had joined the Army Reserves not thinking he'd ever have to see battle, and all of the characters with whom Zelmer interacts respond in different ways. Dwayne can't make sense of it and tries to get Zelmer to open up about how he feels. Freddie thinks that the boy needs to make a run for Canada to get out of going. Ron thinks that the party needs to be unforgettable. Jaleesa, Whitley, and Kim perform "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" while dressed in short skirts and military hats. Colonel Taylor and Mr. Gaines feel for Zelmer, who will be interrupting his PhD studies to serve our country, something that both of them have done in the past.

Zelmer wasn't able to express his feelings to Dwayne, a civilian, the same way he could to Colonel Taylor. Let's take a look at the final exchange between Colonel Taylor and Zelmer:

Taylor: "You can resume your studies when you come back, after this all blows over."
Zelmer: "Is that what you really think, sir? Do you think that this thing might blow over or do you think that it could turn into something more serious?"
Taylor: "Now, You make no mistake, soldier. This is a series set of events that could escalate into something unfortunate. I'm sorry to have to say this to you."
Zelmer: "I asked you for the truth - that's what you gave me."
Taylor: "Is there anything I can do for you? anything at all?"
Zelmer: "...can you get me out of it?"
Taylor: "Zelmer..."
Zelmer: "I don't think I can do this, sir. I really don't. I'm a black man in the prime of my life. I'm just now starting to live. Just starting to taste, to know who I am, to know what I'm supposed to do with myself. Feeling good about myself. My accomplishments. I can't blow out the candles now. Not now. I'm just starting to see. It's not fair, Colonel."
Taylor: "No it's not fair. I wish to God I could tell you something to make you feel better... I have a friend, a very bright painter. One day, he went blind, just like that. Some freak of nature. Ten years he was in and out of hospitals. Finally, he got some of his sight back, but he never could paint the same, though he never stopped trying. Whenever I start feeling sorry for myself, I think about him. He doesn't know it, but he's my inspiration."
Zelmer: "That story didn't really help me too much, Colonel."
Taylor: "That story wasn't supposed to help you, that story helps me. Now, soldier, son, find your own source of inspiration." 

There's a lot to unpack there, and I won't make light of the conversation by trying to examine every word now. But, I encourage you to give it a second read. The thought that I find most provoking is that what is inspiring for one person may not be inspiring for every person. Personally, I find inspiration in thinking about "The Starfish Story," where a beach is covered in starfish that will likely dry up and die. A little girl tosses one into the ocean and an old man tells her that she can't make a difference when there's thousands of starfish on the shore. She turns to him and says, "well, I made a difference to that one." You can't save the world but you CAN make a difference, however small.

What/who gives you inspiration? 

Throwback Thursday: Stephanie Tanner's Turtles

Continuity errors have always bothered me. Historical inaccuracies, too. When I was a senior in high school I did my IB Extended Essay (a 4,000-word paper) about the issues in the Disney movies Davy Crockett and Pocahontas. So, when I watch a new episode of television and some character does something that makes no sense because of previously established facts, I get upset. This also happens when I see a rerun and pick up on something that I never noticed before.

For example, in the episode of Full House where Jesse and Rebecca have their twins (S05E10, "Happy Birthday, Babies Part 2"), DJ points out how identical Nicky and Alex are, musing about how the new parents will tell who's who. An interesting thought...

http://fullhouse.wikia.com

Well, Stephanie suggests that they could put a drop of red nail polish on one of their backs. Apparently, this is what she did with her turtles (and might have been a good idea, considering that Jesse does mix-up the boys in the very next episode, "Nicky and/or Alexander"). Problematically, there are no turtles on Full House. Aside from Comet, the dog, the family only has Michelle's fish in an episode and later her donkey for an episode. What turtles is Stephanie talking about??

Throwback: Arrested Development in Legos

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Nothing too lengthy today. Not long ago, I saw this link on facebook. I couldn't believe how neat this was. It's not the most detailed depiction on the planet, but it's pretty amazing stuff. If you are a fan of the short-changed Arrested Development, you've got to go take a look. Below is a teaser....

Photo: Pepa Quin

So, do you love it? Have you built any recreations with Legos? Do you know of other Legos-built television replicas? Share below! 

Throwback: Judy Jetson Played the Field

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Were you a Jetsons fan? I was. I liked them quite a bit... though not as much as I liked The Flintstones. I wasn't a big fan of Elroy though... Mr. Spacely. So, obviously, I was pretty limited in what I considered a "good" episode. That said, one of my favorite movies of all time is The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones... I wish that would come to DVD!

Anyway, let's get back to the point. Did you ever realize how many different boys Judy liked? She would talk about them pretty much ALL THE TIME, but I never realized how many different gentlemen were included until I saw the video below. I was really pretty awestruck... and not just at the moaning that the compiler included toward the end.



So, what did you think? Did you realize that there were so many different guys in Judy's life? Or that she planned to settle down well before she turned 20? Go figure.

Throwback: Futurama Done with Legos

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Whether YOU would call this a throwback or not may be up for debate. Since Futurama is currently running, perhaps you wouldn't count it. But, it's back after quite the hiatus... and what I'm about to share was done during that break. Plus, it's done with Legos, which are a throwback for me, since I don't think I've played with them seriously since I was about twelve or thirteen.

I tend to really enjoy renderings, sketches, models, and reincarnations of any kind. People have drawn up floorplans of television houses. I've seen paintings showing famous television sets from different perspectives. The variety in the artwork is nearly unreal. Today, Legos are the medium. A few years ago, an individual replicated New New York and Planet Express, settings from Futurama, which just finished airing its sixth season a couple weeks ago. I think that they are exquisitely done and invite you to go have a look. For a teaser, check out this video to get an overall idea of the work that went into this!

The Life and Death of Saturday Morning Cartoons

by Christopher Scott

When I was a kid (or should I say younger) there was no better day of the week than Saturday. It wasn’t the elation of not being at school that kept me going. Nor was it the fact that I could sleep in until my parents would be ready to go back to bed (mainly because most of the time I was up early anyway). No. It was that Saturday was the one day a week that cartoons would air on almost every channel for hours on end! It was a dream come true!

Each and every local network affiliate had some assembly of TV aimed at my age group. Some were educational and others were sophomoric, but all were great in their own ways. I would get up early (sometimes I even set an alarm if the show was good enough), plop down in front of the TV, and watch whatever cartoon was on that attracted my interests. Mainly these were colorful, well-animated shows that catered to young boys, but occasionally my sister would be up and we’d have to … “share.” My dad would usually have some sort of doughnuts or cinnamon buns to enjoy which only further reinforce my obsession with this day to end all days. It was, by far, the greatest memory of my childhood I have.

The cartoons that aired were also amazing in quality! The storylines were so much more elaborate than a normal weekday cartoon because the networks knew that they would have a captive audience every week. There was never a chance that someone would miss what they would have to offer, so they didn’t resort to just humor to catch interests. Shows like Sonic the Hedgehog, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters, and X-Men were heavy hitters. Even non-cartoon shows like Power Rangers and Goosebumps premiered on Saturday-only occasions. Even while I write this, more names are coming to mind that are just stunning. Batman The Animated Series, Animaniacs, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Pepper Ann, Disney’s Doug. In my opinion, it was the Golden Age of cartoons and we will never have another time that they will make such an impact on children’s lives.

Today things are different though. Saturday cartoons still exist, but without all of the flair and excitement. Most of the shows that air have already premiered on other networks, which make them lose any semblance of uniqueness. The monopoly of Saturday morning has been replaced by multiple 24-hour cartoon cable networks like Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and Nickelodeon. Also, the quality of the original series on Saturday has gone down drastically. After looking at the programming lineup for Saturday this week on broadcast channels, I didn’t find a single new series for the 7- to 11-year-old age group except maybe this show called Horseland about girls who ride horses at a ranch. (I guess the horses can talk to each other, but not to the girls or something. I don’t know.) There are a few shows that are several years old that stopped airing new episodes like Yu-Gi-Oh and Sonic X, and Disney continues to replay the same episodes of Hannah Montana for the 150^th time, but that is it!

I think the worst part of all is that this is just one more way kids are losing their childhoods without even knowing it. Sure, they can still watch great cartoons that air on some other networks, but it’s just not the same. Either they have to constantly watch out for when their show might be on, they have to set-up a DVR device, or they have to watch it online later. Plus, one great show that airs on Monday at 5pm, another on Wednesday at 7pm, and three on Friday on two separate channels starting at 8pm doesn’t have that impact that Saturday morning would have when every show worth watching was on at some point or another. And all a parent had to do to connect with their child back then was grab a chair and watch. There was no planning, no schedules, and no problems. There will never be another time that such a composition of great children’s programming will ever exist. When I have kids, I just hope that I can manage to keep the dream alive to give them the wonderful memories that I had growing up through the means of a DVR. It won’t be easy, but the payoff will definitely be worth it.

I want to hear from you! What shows or experiences do you remember about Saturday morning cartoon blocks? And do you agree with me, or do you think that things have actually gotten better since the demise of Saturday cartoons? Leave your comments below!

Throwback: Destiny

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

It would be a lie to describe my life as anything but hectic lately. I was out of town for 20 days in July, the bulk of it for business of one sort or another. "Destiny" came to mind  today because I've come to a point where I need to decide which part of my career cluster I want to pursue. I've sort of been pulled in three directions for the past few years. And I've had different approaches toward trying to break into each... one I worked in for three years and dearly miss, one I got a Master's degree in, and the third has just come along. Yeah, if you guessed this site was the third, you've hit the nail on the head.

I never wanted to be a writer. I never dreamed I'd be working on several writing projects at once (including a book that my husband has had me working on here and there). But, apparently, it was destiny. Someone found TheTalkingBox through twitter and gave me oodles of advice on things I could be doing. I've already done a few and plan to work on a few more. But I have to question whether I was destined to be discovered just a month before the TCA Summer Press Tour, allowing me to find out about how to apply to attend and therefore gaining tons of knowledge and tons to post about in the coming weeks/months.

Well, this led me to think about destiny on television. There are tons of cases of it, and entire story arcs are sometimes attributed to a single event that happened, creating chaos throughout multiple characters' lives. But, I think one particular episode of How I Met Your Mother really showcases destiny to the fullest. I'm talking about "Lucky Penny" which was Season 2, Episode 15... a throwback to 2007.

Ted and Robin are trying to catch a plane to Chicago, so Ted can interview for his dream job. But, they're late getting to the airport because Ted had a court date earlier in the day. He had to be in court because he had jumped a turnstile and gotten arrested a while back. He jumped the turnstile because Barney needed his help to get off the subway. Barney couldn't move because his legs were worn out from running the New York City marathon. Barney ran the marathon to win a bet with Marshall, who had been training for the event. Marshall wasn't able to run in the marathon because he broke a toe the day before the race. Marshall got injured when Robin startled him at Ted's apartment in the middle of the day. Robin was there in the middle of the day because she was too tired to go home to Brooklyn after camping out with Lily to go bridal dress shopping. Lily wanted to camp out because she finally knew the location of the designer closeout sale, which Robin and Ted had seen people lining up for while walking by and eating hot dogs. They walked by it because Ted needed to treat Robin to a $1.50 dinner because of another bet. He had bet her that a 1939 penny would be worth enough to go out to dinner. He picked up that penny and was thrilled at the minted date. So, because Ted picked up that penny, he began a chain of events that would cause him to miss a plane to an interview in Chicago. Had he made the plane and landed the job, he would have relocated to Chicago and not met "the mother," or at least not in the same way. And, Ted calls that destiny.

What do you think?

Throwback: David Silver's Bachelor Party

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I've written about Beverly Hills, 90210 quite a few times in the past several months. However, since I'm currently at the Beverly Hilton for an event (and I routed myself to the address that does indeed include the famed zip!), plus SOAPnet's daytime run of the show recently finished a run and is back at the early years of the show, I wanted to look at one more thing from it.

The final few episodes (um, yes, there will be spoilers if you haven't seen the show) deal with David and Donna's wedding. I was shocked the first time I saw this episode, as the lead-up was pretty short, though I guess they were just running out of time after ten years. I mean, wouldn't you think that Donna would want more time to plan a wedding?!? The respective bachelor parties were funny, with Mrs. Teasley making an appearance and Donna's, and the randomly-seen Muntz showing up at David's. But what i wanted to share today was the poem that Steve wrote for David's party, detailing the girls that he had been with throughout the show. I was thrown back by how many girls are mentioned, as I always thought of Brandon and Steve being the ones who had the many girlfriends on the show!

In fair Beverly Hills, a boy did reign,
Davey Silver was his name. 
From far and wide, the girls did speed
For they'd heard of Davey's bedroom deeds.
Donna Martin of the golden hair
Was the first into our David's lair.
Virgins we, the couple swore,
Till a girl named Ariel came through David's door.
Clare was next, then some fox named Malone,
Sophie and David took it all the way home.
Denise was fun, and Carole too.
Claudia couldn't get her green card,
That made poor Dave blue.
Don't forget Katie, the sex addict! She,
And Robyn who hated his radio personality.
Marta the artist, wasn't she fun?
And Gina Kincaid...number one!
One stop was left, her name was Camille...
We thought it might last.
But come on, guys: get real!
There was only one dame
Her name's Donna, she's fine.
My God, Silver: it's about time!

Now, the internet nitpickers have seemed to agree that there's a girl missing from this list. From an early episode that I can only barely remember (where Donna, David, Kelly, and Steve go to Palm Springs to see David's grandparents), there was a girl named Tuesday. But otherwise, it seems that David's conquests all made it into Steve's poem... all fourteen of them! That seems like a lot to me, especially when I think about how long some of these characters were around, LoL. Do you remember all of these (de)lovely ladies?

Throwback: Favorite Cartoons

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Since Comic-Con officially starts today, I thought that I'd do a throwback that features some of my favorite cartoons. And not just those from childhood, either. I totally watched cartoons through high school, haha.Sure, I still catch them on Netflix every now and then, but I haven't regularly followed any (not counting The Simpsons and South Park, since they're not geared toward children anyway) regularly in years.

My mom tells me that I had a Rainbow Brite obsession as soon as I could discern specific programs on television. I remember renting a few at the video store when I was learning to read, but I honestly can't remember watching the show on regular television. I still love Rainbow Brite, and will be rocking a shirt from the show tomorrow! (Today is my Marvel shirt. of course.)

Now, my very favorite from elementary school: ThunderCats. You better believe that I was the only girl in the first grade rocking a ThunderCats lunchbox and thermos! I loved that show, from how cute Snarf was to how cool it looked when Cheetara ran to the Rober-Berbles and how neat it was to have robot pandas around. Mumm-ra was a pretty scary bad guy, but I thought he was unique.

Next, the cartoons that I watched religiously after school as part of the Disney Afternoon years: Gummi Bears, TaleSpin, and Chip 'n Dale's Rescue Rangers. As I've probably mentioned before, Rescue Rangers was what we talked about at snack time in Kindergarten, so I had to be up the latest adventures of Chip, Dale, Monty, Gadget, and Zipper! FatCat was my favorite villain, though Nimnul ran a close second! I thought that the storyline for Gummi Bears was just fabulous, and the characters were quite lovable. With TaleSpin, it was simply the characters. I thought that Don Carnage was a hilarious bad guy, and the idea of "cloud-kicking" blew my mind. The storylines were a bit outrageous (I wasn't the best at allowing myself to have a willing suspension of disbelief as a child) and wrapped themselves up all too quickly, but how could you not love Wildcat, Baloo, Molly, Kit, and the others?

And, on the weekends as a youngin', Foofur and Punky Brewster were my Saturday Morning Cartoons of choice. As a kid who was deathly afraid of dogs, the idea that a bunch of canines lived together (along with Fencer the cat and a few rats) with no real owner was amusing. The constant hiding from the realtor was funny to me, and I just remember laughing at the show all the time. With Punky, I think it was Glomer who first sucked me in. He seemed like such a cool "pet" and I had a fascination with magical creatures and the world of fun that they could create for someone. Sure, Punky and her friends were cool, but Glomer, he was amazing! 

Middle school was pretty simple for me... Rugrats and Doug. I was new to having Nickelodeon, and those two shows were big hits with me and my siblings. While everything that the rugrats ever did was pretty unbelievable, I adored their ability to teach about other cultures and holidays, and thought that the writing was great. Doug was quite a bit more believable (well, not the fact that people were blue, haha), and I thought that most of the secondary characters were well-written and developed... like Judy, Connie, and Mr. Dink. I'll even admit that I actually liked the Disney episodes of The Brand-Spankin' New Doug, which wasn't a hit with a lot of other people. I thought that aging the kids a year did a lot for the show and the way they handled the situations that were faced.

In high school my favorites included The Weekenders, Teacher's Pet, Recess, and Pepper Ann. The first two were Saturday morning shows, the latter two were afterschool shows (though they began on Saturdays, of course). I've written about a few of these before, but in a nutshell, it was the characters that kept me coming back. In The Weekenders, the cast was pretty small, so it was easy to latch on to each of the four, and understand where they were coming from and what they were doing. With Teacher's Pet, the idea that a dog went to school was pretty intriguing, but the fact that his teacher was also his owner (and she didn't realize who the dog was) baffled me to the point that I just couldn't stop watching, waiting for the day that she discovered the truth. My fourth grade wasn't like Recess in any way (we didn't even have cliques yet), but the storylines were incredibly believable to me, and the roles that the kids took in each scheme just made sense. Similarly, although I couldn't directly relate to Pepper Ann, I just "got" the show and her interactions with other characters was just moving for me. 

My college cartoon was totally As Told by Ginger, which I just thought was written well. There were a bunch of characters, the storylines were more pre-teen/teen-oriented, and the depiction of social life at school was a little more believable than a lot of other shows. Plus, there was a special where they went to camp, and I spent two of my summer during college working at a resident camp, so that held a special place in my heart. 

I know you're dying to share... what have your favorite cartoons been throughout life??

Throwback: Where are the Huxtables?

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

With ABCFamily's State of Georgia as the newest thing on Wednesday nights, and the fact that A Different World is airing on weekday afternoons over on BET, I've been thinking about the actors from The Cosby Show. Some of them have been on the news in the past year, but others I haven't heard about... well... since they were Huxtables! So, I thought I would do a throwback of sorts today by looking at the actors from The Cosby Show and filling you in on what they've been up to since the show ended in 1992.

Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby):  After The Cosby Show (which came after Fat Albert, by the way), he did The Cosby Mysteries and Cosby, plus a few TV movies. He hasn't been incredibly active on-screen over the past ten years, and he did turn 74 just a few days ago. However, he is now up to ten published books. In 2002 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and in 2003 he received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. Oh, and if you didn't know, his doctorate is real. He has a bunch of honorary degrees, but he did complete coursework and dissertation at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1976.

Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad):  She's done a bunch of TV movies, plus a few small roles on television series. She starred as Bill Cosby's wife for another 4 years, in Cosby. Most notable is her 2004 Tony win for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, as she was the first African-American to receive that honor. Four years later, she resumed that role in the film of A Raisin in the Sun. Her theatrical work also brought her to Broadway five other times since The Cosby Show, and she has even tried her hand at directing for the stage in 2007, with August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean for Seattle Rep.

Sondra Huxtable Tibideaux (Sabrina Le Beauf):  Her best-known work post-Cosby Show is voicing Norma Bindlebeep on Fatherhood. Le Beauf has her own interior design business and frequently works with the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC. She's also done performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, The Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and at the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference.

Denise Huxtable Kendall (Lisa Bonet):  It's commonly known that Bonet did A Different World in the middle of her Cosby Show appearances. She's acted in a handful of movies, including Enemy of the State and High Fidelity, and played a detective on Life on Mars for six episodes just a couple years ago.

Theo Huxtable (Malcolm-Jamal Warner):  Immediately following his success with The Cosby Show, Warner played AJ in the show Here and Now. He voiced The Producer in 43 episodes of The Magic School Bus, starred as Malcolm in Malcolm & Eddie for four years, was Kurdy in Jeremiah, played Bernie in Listen Up, and has recently done a few episodes as Andre in Community. Warner has also done a bunch of movies, both for-tv and wide releases. He also has done some directing (starting with five episodes of The Cosby Show), and is a performance poet. Pretty impressive for a relatively unknown guy pre-Cosby! 

Vanessa Huxtable (Tempestt Bledsoe):  Bledsoe didn't appear in anything immediately after finishing The Cosby Show, and has done mainly one-time appearances on television episodes and several tv-movies. She did have her own talk show for the 1995-1996 season, but it didn't last due to lack of viewership. In 2008, she began doing voicework on The Replacements, which she continued for 21 episodes. 

Rudy Huxtable (Keisha Knight Pulliam):  Pulliam also didn't do on-screen work immediately following The Cosby Show, choosing to finish high school and go to Spelman College, where she graduated in 2001. She has since starred in several films, including Beauty Shop and Madea Goes to Jail. She's currently on House of Payne as Miranda, a character that she has been playing since 2007.

Grandpa Russell Huxtable (Earle Hyman):  Now 84 years old, Hyman has had a few small roles on television series such as All My Children and Twice in a Lifetime, and has done a couple tv-movies, including Hijacked: Flight 285 and The Moving of Sophia Myles. Hyman also acted for the stage prior to and during his Cosby years, with his final Broadway production being The Master Builder in 1992.

Grandma Anna Huxtable (Clarice Taylor):  Taylor passed away in May, at the age of 93. When The Cosby Show ended, she was already in her mid-70s, so it's not too surprising that her work afterward is a short list. (Not everyone is Betty White!) Post-Cosby, she appeared in the films Sommersby and Smoke, and did an episode of Due South in 1995.

Elvin Tibideaux (Geoffrey Owens):  Owens has been around, playing Robert Watkins in Built to Last in the late 90s, and having small roles on series like Law & Order (both the original and Special Victims Unit), That's So Raven, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Boston Legal, Las Vegas, Medium, I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant, Without a Trace, FlashForward, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. He has also done several films.

Nelson Tibideaux (Gary LeRoi Gray as preschooler Nelson): Gray grew up to do a lot of acting. He did a few episodes of Living Single, played Little G on Family Matters, spent 7 episodes as Bobby on The Weird Al Show, and appeared on Party of Five, 7th Heaven, Even Stevens, and Rocket Power. He also played young Tiger Woods in a tv movie, voiced AJ in The Fairly OddParents, and has recently done small roles on House and CSI:Miami. He's also currently attending UCLA. Jessica Ann Vaughn, who played his twin sister, preschooler Winnie Tibideaux, did not go on to do any other on-screen work. 

Martin Kendall (Joseph C. Phillips):  Another busy actor, Phillips did small roles on Martin, Living Single, General Hospital, Any Day Now, City of Angels, Popular, The Parkers, The King of Queens, and Judging Amy before landing more regular roles on The District, Vanished, and Without a Trace. He's also been in several tv movies and a couple wide-release films, and most recently did two episodes of The Event in 2010. Off-screen he has written an autobiography and writes a weekly syndicated column promoting conservative viewpoints. 

Olivia Kendall (Raven-Symone):  I might argue that, along with Malcolm-Jamal Warner, she has had the steadiest work after The Cosby Show. She immediately transitioned to playing Nicole on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, doing Little Rascals during the run of that show. Then, she did Doctor Doolittle (and the sequel), two of the Zenon tv movies, The Cheetah Girls, and some voicework. She appeared on many other Disney Channel shows and movies as well, including Kim Possible, Disney 411, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, That's So Raven, and Sonny with a Chance. She's also released four record albums and a fifth is in the works. She's continued with her voicework as well, and is currently providing the voice of Iridessa in the Tinker Bell films. Her newest venture is State of Georgia, which began airing only a few weeks ago. [post about Raven-Symone's thoughts on the show]

Kenny/Bud (Deon Richmond):  Shortly after the end of The Cosby Show, Richmond played Darren Dixon on Getting By before several years of small roles here and there. He was a regular on Sister, Sister, playing Jordan for 20 episodes in the late 90s. After that, he did a few movies, including Scream 3, Not Another Teen Movie, and Van Wilder. In 2006 he played Calvin on Teachers, and has mostly done largely unknown works since then.

Pam Tucker (Erika Alexander): She played Cheryl on Going to the Extremes just after The Cosby Show, then Maxine on Living Single. She's also done a recurring role on Judging Amy, a regular role on Street Time, and several episodes of In Plain Sight. She has a long list of one-time appearances as well, including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 7th Heaven, ER, CSI, Numb3rs, CSI:Miami, Criminal Minds, and House.

Throwback: The Siblings on 90210

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I have two siblings - a younger brother and a younger sister. Theoretically I could have some half-siblings or step-siblings floating around, as my dad left when I was twelve, and I haven't spoken to him since before I graduated from high school. This is not an entirely uncommon situation, but I generally like to believe that, at least in the United States, people tend to know who their siblings are.

On Beverly Hills, 90210 ALL of the main younger characters (so not Jim, Cindy, Nat, etc.) who stay more than five seasons - aka half the lifetime of the show - experience a change or potential change in their sibling status. The first time I watched all of the episodes, the only real shockers to me were Dylan's and Donna's surprise sibling moments. Now, as I just finished my third run-through of the nearly-300-episode series, I find it astonishing how often this issue comes up on the show! Did you realize this?

Brandon:  (& Brenda, though she only lasted four seasons): Parents briefly decide to have another child. It only lasts a few episodes, but potentially was going to have a sibling.

Steve: He finds out that he's adopted in season 1, changing his perception of his brothers completely. Years later, when he finds out that his adoptive father IS his biological father, he's thrown for another loop. Ryan & Austin went from his full-brothers to his adopted brothers to his half-brothers.

Dylan: In season 4 he meets Erica, his half-sister that his father had with another woman. Later, in season 10, he finds out that his father is still alive (though it appeared he had died in season 3), and has had another son, Dylan's half-brother. Unfortunately, Jack McKay has to go on the run again (as Eddie Waitkus), and they're not really reunited.

David: This is the weakest of the sibling storylines. When his dad (Mel) married Jackie, Kelly (a big crush of his in the first season) becomes his step-sister. Mel and Jackie have a child, resulting in Erin being David's half-sister.

Kelly: Again, David becomes her step-brother and Erin becomes her half-sister. BUT, in season 7, Kelly learns that her father has an entire other family, including a sister around her age named Joy. There's also a short period of time when Kelly's dad might marry Valerie's mom, which would have resulted in the two enemies becoming stepsisters. 

Donna: Growing up an only child, Donna finds out in season 6 that her mother had a miscarriage before she was born. But, more interestingly, in season 10 she finds out that the girl she knew her whole life as a cousin was actually her half-sister. Gina was the result of Donna's dad messing around with her mom's sister.

This covers the long-profiled characters from the show. But, this syndrome isn't limited to them, either! Noah, who appeared in seasons 8-10, finds out that he has a half-sister named Cindy late in the series.

Makes you wonder, huh?

Throwback: No One's Ready

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

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

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

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

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

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

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

Throwback: Disney Channel Original Movies

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

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

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

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

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

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

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

Throwback: Cable Problems

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Throwback: Fair Dinkum

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

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

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


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

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

Throwback: Let Me Run Your Diner

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I'm always hearing about how things were different forty years ago... places were safer, people were kinder, weather was better. Heck, I sometimes talk about how things were better ten years ago... people were on time because they couldn't call your cell and ask you to wait for them, there was no texting so you actually had to talk to people, your friends actually carried cash so checks could split nicely.

A while back I saw an episode of The Golden Girls where the girls are having a really bad Christmas Eve. They're not able to get home for the holidays and it's cold and rainy out. They wind up in a diner and they feel bad for the worker, since he's not able to spend the holiday with his family. So, since they have nothing better to do (and they're nice people), they offer to look after the diner for an hour so he could go home and be with his family for a bit. The guy hardly thinks twice before letting them take over. It starts snowing and everyone is happy in the end. You can see the scene here.

Now, I could hardly believe this. It's 2011, and the episode (season 2, episode 11) originally ran in 1986. It kinda baffles me that, 25 years ago, it was cool to allow some strangers to run your diner for an hour. Maybe the guy trusted four senior citizen ladies whom he believed were all related. But, it's still Miami, and that's not St. Olaf! Maybe those older than I can comment on whether this could have actually happened... thoughts?

Throwback Thursday: Elaine's Airport Route

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Seinfeld peppers the syndication world on several different channels these days. I feel like I see it on the guide at least once a day. It's one of those shows that I came to long after it ended, and I enjoy seeing a funny episode every now and then when reruns are the best thing that's on the tube. 

Not long ago, "The Busboy" episode was on, which is about how George gets a busboy fired, then makes his life pretty crappy before everyone realizes that he really saves his life. But, in a sidestory, Elaine's boyfriend is visiting from Seattle, and she gets sick of him. They oversleep when he's supposed to leave, and she drives like a maniac to get him to the airport. Her monologue about the way she drove amuses me to no end. I'm almost on the edge of my seat each time I hear it. So, I thought I would share it with you today. I couldn't find a clip of the show, but here's a sketched version someone did, the monologue still in place:  

cropped with SnipSnip

If you'd like to see the entire episode, go here, the monologue beings about 16:30.

Throwback: Recycled Footage

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

It should come as no surprise to anyone that television shows and movies alike tend to recycle some clips in order to save money. Nothing major, but bits and pieces appear again. You've probably heard of the youtube clip that shows a bunch of Disney films with the same dance moves in multiple movies. But today, I want to direct your attention to some Beverly Hills, 90210 recycling.

Now, I'll admit... I love Beverly Hills, 90210... and I've seen every episode, as I've mentioned here before. But, every day they show two episodes on SOAPnet, and I DVR them. Currently, I started doing this just after season 4 started, and we're currently in season 8. I first thought about the idea for this post at the end of season 6, when I saw a few seconds of footage that looked strikingly familiar. I thought about it for a moment and remembered where I saw it... and that's what I'm addressing today.

One of my favorite episodes in the series is Season 4, Episode 3's "The Little Fish," which opens with Brenda coming home from Minnesota, having dropped out of college. Immediately afterward, the gang registers for their classes, and we see bunches of students on campus. Memorably, there's a girl on rollerblades wearing clothes that resemble an American flag. It was a very strange thing to see (since I didn't watch it in its original 1993 setting... more like 2008), and stands out in my memory. Therefore, when Season 6, Episode 27's "Strike the Match" shows the same girl on campus, I knew I had seen it before! I mean, it's pretty hard to believe that they filmed the same girl on rollerblades and the same outfit more than once. I can't necessarily pick out any other random kids that are the same in both scenes, but I'm fairly positive that they shot all sorts of footage for the opening scenes when the kids go to California University, then just use some more of it later. And, in first run, I bet it would have been very hard for someone to remember that one girl, who only appears in a grand total of several seconds. But, in reruns, the episodes are shown only a couple months apart, making it easier to recognize the recycled filming.

If you want to see the actual clips, you can look at this video, starting at 4:40, and then this video, starting at 3:28. Below, I screen-captured the girl side-by-side, with her first appearance on the left and her second on the right.

So, I leave you wondering... what recycled footage can you think of in television shows?

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!

Throwback: Stick Stickly

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Today's throwback is focused on a character who hosted afternoon cable television.

When I first got cable, afternoons in the summer found my siblings and I tuning into Nick in the Afternoon, which would feature random shows. The two-hour block was hosted by Stick Stickly, a popsicle stick with a few glued-on features. He'd don various costumes to go various places, and he met other sticks, like Holly B. Wood (his love interest, who was also a news anchor), Woodknot Stickly (his long-lost brother), and SuperStick (his super hero identity). Here's the story of Woodknot (note: you can tell this is kinda old, the World Trade Center is featured):

Stick Stickly would spin on a dial to figure out what show would play next. There was a segment called Stump Stick, where he'd be given a riddle to solve. There was Dip Stick, where Stick had to try and guess what he was being dunked into. Doesn't sound that exciting now, but it was amusing to us (pre)teens!

And, to completely date the entire thing (Stick went off the air in 1998), you didn't email him... you wrote to him. And, all true Stick fans will now sing the following jingle aloud... "Write to me, Stick Stickly, PO BOX 963, New York City, New York State, 10108!"  Now, the real question... did you send him a rubber band for his birthday like he asked? My mom wouldn't give me a stamp for such a thing, but I wanted to!

Did this bring it all back for you? Or were you one of those kids who played outside during the dog-day afternoons of summer? :-P