Consider the following:
A New York-based, Indiana-born architect, accustomed to the life of a bachelor, has his whole world turned upside down when his nephew and nieces move in with him after their parents are killed in an auto accident, and the rest of the relatives don't want them.
In a nutshell, that's the premise behind Family Affair, which lasted 5 seasons on CBS (1966-71), and came from producer Don Fedderson (My Three Sons), who would only produce two more series after Affair ended. But then, we're getting ahead of ourselves.
The plot centered on Bill Davis (Brian Keith, ex-The Westerner), the aforementioned playboy architect, who, along with his valet, Giles French (Sebastian Cabot, ex-Checkmate), now must attend to his nephew, Jody (Johnny Whitaker), and nieces Buffy (Anissa Jones) & Cissy (Kathy Garver). One must think that when Sherwood Schwartz created The Brady Bunch 3 years later, he had to have been inspired by not only the movie, "With Six, You Get Eggroll", but Affair as well.
As Fedderson had cast ex-Mouseketeer Don Grady in My Three Sons, he went to the well again, and hired Sherry Alberoni to play a friend of Cissy's. Just a coincidence, it would seem. However, he also played the nepotism card and had son Gregg cast as Cissy's boyfriend. Oh, well.
Post-Affair, Johnny Whitaker & Kathy Garver are the only core cast members still with us, but for the most part, everyone, save for Anissa Jones, kept busy after the series ended. Whitaker made films such as "Napoleon & Samantha" (with a young Jodie Foster), "Tom Sawyer", and for Hallmark Hall of Fame, The Littlest Angel, before moving on to the Saturday morning series, Sigmund & the Sea Monsters, which lasted 3 seasons (1973-6) on NBC. Garver is doing mostly voice work these days, usually for audiobooks, but cartoon fans know her as the voice behind Firestar (Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends, 1981-4), among other roles. Sebastian Cabot's last series gig was Ghost Story (previously reviewed), which underwent the title change to Circle of Fear in mid-season after Cabot departed. Brian Keith landed one more sitcom gig, which started under the title, The Little People before being rechristened, The Brian Keith Show. Either way, it lasted one season. Keith would return to drama in the 80's action series, Hardcastle & McCormick, which ran for three seasons on ABC.
Here's the theme everyone knows, composed by Frank DeVol:
The popularity of Buffy's doll, Mrs. Beasley, led to a merchandising deal with Mattel. Unfortunately, none of the magic of the original series would translate into a 2002 revival on the WB, with Tim Curry ("Rocky Horror Picture Show", "Clue") as Mr. French, and Gary Cole (ex-Midnight Caller as Bill. That version lasted just one season.
As I noted, Fedderson produced two more series. To Rome With Love, starring John Forsythe, replaced Affair on the CBS schedule in 1971. The following year brought Henry Fonda and Ron Howard in The Smith Family on ABC. Both series were cancelled after 1 season each, and after that, Fedderson wasn't able to sell any more series to the networks.
Rating: B+.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Musical Interlude: Personal Jesus (1990)
When Depeche Mode came along in the 80's, their hits, such as "People Are People", got airplay on MTV, but not on a lot of radio stations. Their songs either ended up on college channels or album-oriented rock (AOR) stations.
That all changed with the release of "Violator" in 1990, which produced a small handful of hits that garnered heavy airplay on MTV, starting with "Personal Jesus". If you've heard Marilyn Manson's incomprehensibly bad cover, well, you're better off with the original. Warner Bros. Records' YouTube channel offers the video, digitally remastered.
That all changed with the release of "Violator" in 1990, which produced a small handful of hits that garnered heavy airplay on MTV, starting with "Personal Jesus". If you've heard Marilyn Manson's incomprehensibly bad cover, well, you're better off with the original. Warner Bros. Records' YouTube channel offers the video, digitally remastered.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
On the Shelf: Mermaids, fairies, and old friends
I apologize for not having previously done my annual overview of Free Comic Book Day 2 1/2 weeks ago, but here we are, better late than never. We'll do some today, and the rest next time.
Marvel offers a sneak peek at two forthcoming animated series, both headed to DisneyXD.
Avengers Assemble replaces Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes on the schedule, and is aimed at younger viewers. In other words, it's a step up from the Super Hero Squad Show, now airing in reruns on The Hub, and a flight or two below the last series. The comic, of course, seeks to capture the appropriate artistic style, and works in that capacity. Meanwhile, Hulk & The Agents of S.M.A.S.H. is someone's idea of taking recent events in Hulk's books and trying to set up the green goliath to form his own team. She-Hulk returns, but TV audiences will have to get used to Hulk's old nemesis, General "Thunderbolt" Ross, in his new guise as Red Hulk, and Rick Jones Hulks out as well, as the blue-skinned A-Bomb. Yeah, that happened in the books, too. Rounding out this monster cast is Skaar, who was introduced as the son of the Hulk in the books a couple of years back. When you consider that Bruce Banner's wife, Betty Ross, is now the Red She-Hulk, well, some would think she'd be more than a bit upset over her hubby's cheating on her on another world. Yeah, I know, too much information.
Too many Hulks, though, actually spoils the legacy of the character. No rating, as we'll review the shows themselves when they debut on DisneyXD.
Meanwhile, over at DC, this year's DC Nation Super Sampler offers a peek at the forthcoming Beware The Batman, and marking the comics debut of writer-producer Mitch Watson as a plotter. Serviceable, but one needs to get used to seeing Alfred clean-shaven in this series. Anarky, a villain of a sort who debuted in the 90's in the books, is the big bad here, and it'll be interesting to see where this goes. Latest word says Cartoon Network will debut this show sometime in the summer. Meanwhile, Teen Titans GO! is represented by an inventory piece from the defunct book of the same name, which is a little easier on the ol' eyeballs than watching the chibi-animated silliness airing twice weekly on CN (previously reviewed in Saturday Morning Archives). Rating: B.
Papercutz checks in with another round of Smurfs, with the movie sequel due soon. If you still have the issue from 2011, this is a continuation, although this time, Papercutz also adds an adaptation of the CN series, Annoying Orange, among the backup features. Papercutz also has an issue starring Tinker Bell and her fairy friends. If you've seen the DTV movies with these characters, well, this should be worth reading to your little girls. Both books merit an A rating.
We'll finish part one of our FCBD review with Action Lab's NFL Rush Zone, which adapts the Nicktoons series of the same name. I haven't seen the show yet, but I did get a pretty good idea of the concept. Kids, all I have to tell you is to let your imagination run wild if you're an NFL fan. Rating: B-.
From Dynamite comes Damsels: Mermaids, which bows with a 0 issue on FCBD, meaning that issue 1 is right around the corner. It's a stand-alone series separate from the regular Damsels book, and if you've been following that, you'll gravitate over to Mermaids with no problem. Nice art, but if this isn't a licensed title, like most of Dynamite's line, they could stand to lower the price. Rating: B+.
Shifting gears and going to my personal reading pile.
Dynamite Entertainment is expanding its line of licensed heroes titles. The results, though, have been hit or miss.
Veteran writer Mark Waid is the latest to take on Green Hornet in an all-new series borne out of the Hornet's appearances in the Masks limited series. Waid appears to be setting up friction between the Hornet & Kato in what would be a case from early in the Hornet's career. I'll take a chance. Rating: A-.
June Tarpe Mills created Miss Fury during the Golden Age, and the character's last appearance was for Malibu or one of its sister labels in the 90's. Now, she's being reposited as Dynamite's answer to Catwoman, but I am so not digging the opening arc, which has Marla Drake (Miss Fury) shifting in time between 1943 and 2013. For what, well, you'd have to keep reading. Dynamite, though, should have marked this series as "recommended for mature readers" because of brief sex scenes and a near nip slip, the latter in issue 2. Apparently, the writer likes the idea of Marla getting busy out of costume, if you catch the drift. Rating: C-.
The Black Bat's been around since the Golden Age, too, but writer Brian Buccelato, formerly with Marvel, lays it on mighty thick, as if the Bat is meant to be Dynamite's cross between DC's Dr. Mid-Nite and Marvel's Punisher, except that the Bat can see because of an eye transplant, but, well.......! Rating: B.
Marvel offers a sneak peek at two forthcoming animated series, both headed to DisneyXD.
Avengers Assemble replaces Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes on the schedule, and is aimed at younger viewers. In other words, it's a step up from the Super Hero Squad Show, now airing in reruns on The Hub, and a flight or two below the last series. The comic, of course, seeks to capture the appropriate artistic style, and works in that capacity. Meanwhile, Hulk & The Agents of S.M.A.S.H. is someone's idea of taking recent events in Hulk's books and trying to set up the green goliath to form his own team. She-Hulk returns, but TV audiences will have to get used to Hulk's old nemesis, General "Thunderbolt" Ross, in his new guise as Red Hulk, and Rick Jones Hulks out as well, as the blue-skinned A-Bomb. Yeah, that happened in the books, too. Rounding out this monster cast is Skaar, who was introduced as the son of the Hulk in the books a couple of years back. When you consider that Bruce Banner's wife, Betty Ross, is now the Red She-Hulk, well, some would think she'd be more than a bit upset over her hubby's cheating on her on another world. Yeah, I know, too much information.
Too many Hulks, though, actually spoils the legacy of the character. No rating, as we'll review the shows themselves when they debut on DisneyXD.
Meanwhile, over at DC, this year's DC Nation Super Sampler offers a peek at the forthcoming Beware The Batman, and marking the comics debut of writer-producer Mitch Watson as a plotter. Serviceable, but one needs to get used to seeing Alfred clean-shaven in this series. Anarky, a villain of a sort who debuted in the 90's in the books, is the big bad here, and it'll be interesting to see where this goes. Latest word says Cartoon Network will debut this show sometime in the summer. Meanwhile, Teen Titans GO! is represented by an inventory piece from the defunct book of the same name, which is a little easier on the ol' eyeballs than watching the chibi-animated silliness airing twice weekly on CN (previously reviewed in Saturday Morning Archives). Rating: B.
Papercutz checks in with another round of Smurfs, with the movie sequel due soon. If you still have the issue from 2011, this is a continuation, although this time, Papercutz also adds an adaptation of the CN series, Annoying Orange, among the backup features. Papercutz also has an issue starring Tinker Bell and her fairy friends. If you've seen the DTV movies with these characters, well, this should be worth reading to your little girls. Both books merit an A rating.
We'll finish part one of our FCBD review with Action Lab's NFL Rush Zone, which adapts the Nicktoons series of the same name. I haven't seen the show yet, but I did get a pretty good idea of the concept. Kids, all I have to tell you is to let your imagination run wild if you're an NFL fan. Rating: B-.
From Dynamite comes Damsels: Mermaids, which bows with a 0 issue on FCBD, meaning that issue 1 is right around the corner. It's a stand-alone series separate from the regular Damsels book, and if you've been following that, you'll gravitate over to Mermaids with no problem. Nice art, but if this isn't a licensed title, like most of Dynamite's line, they could stand to lower the price. Rating: B+.
Shifting gears and going to my personal reading pile.
Dynamite Entertainment is expanding its line of licensed heroes titles. The results, though, have been hit or miss.
Veteran writer Mark Waid is the latest to take on Green Hornet in an all-new series borne out of the Hornet's appearances in the Masks limited series. Waid appears to be setting up friction between the Hornet & Kato in what would be a case from early in the Hornet's career. I'll take a chance. Rating: A-.
June Tarpe Mills created Miss Fury during the Golden Age, and the character's last appearance was for Malibu or one of its sister labels in the 90's. Now, she's being reposited as Dynamite's answer to Catwoman, but I am so not digging the opening arc, which has Marla Drake (Miss Fury) shifting in time between 1943 and 2013. For what, well, you'd have to keep reading. Dynamite, though, should have marked this series as "recommended for mature readers" because of brief sex scenes and a near nip slip, the latter in issue 2. Apparently, the writer likes the idea of Marla getting busy out of costume, if you catch the drift. Rating: C-.
The Black Bat's been around since the Golden Age, too, but writer Brian Buccelato, formerly with Marvel, lays it on mighty thick, as if the Bat is meant to be Dynamite's cross between DC's Dr. Mid-Nite and Marvel's Punisher, except that the Bat can see because of an eye transplant, but, well.......! Rating: B.
Rockin' Funnies: Smile (2011)
Kirk Franklin (currently co-hosting The American Bible Challenge) teams with Steve Harvey (Family Feud) to pay homage to a famous scene in "Coming to America". You know the one, where Eddie Murphy & Arsenio Hall are playing multiple roles in a church sequence. Harvey & Franklin are both in the front row, while also on stage in costume (Harvey takes on Arsenio's role as the preacher, as if you couldn't tell).
Here's a musical "Smile" for ya, courtesy of Harvey's "official" YouTube channel:
Here's a musical "Smile" for ya, courtesy of Harvey's "official" YouTube channel:
Heaven adds to its chorus
In the last 24 hours, we've lost two musical talents from a bygone era.
Alan O'Day is better known as a songwriter who created hits for Bobby Sherman, Helen Reddy, Cher, & the Righteous Brothers, among others, before hitting the charts himself in 1977 with "Undercover Angel", which was later used in the first "Charlie's Angels" feature film (appropriate, no?). O'Day succumbed to cancer at 72.
While there is no official video available of "Undercover Angel", we will have to make do with this from kouj1328:
Ray Manzarek was the keyboard player in The Doors, and was still playing periodically as late as last year. Manzarek passed away on Monday at 74. Following is a 1968 concert clip of the band performing "Light My Fire", which features an organ solo by Manzarek:
We'll close with a little appropriate number, the Righteous Brothers' final hit, "Rock & Roll Heaven", written by Alan O'Day in 1974, with the following video culled from a 1981 concert.
Rest in peace, Alan & Ray.
Alan O'Day is better known as a songwriter who created hits for Bobby Sherman, Helen Reddy, Cher, & the Righteous Brothers, among others, before hitting the charts himself in 1977 with "Undercover Angel", which was later used in the first "Charlie's Angels" feature film (appropriate, no?). O'Day succumbed to cancer at 72.
While there is no official video available of "Undercover Angel", we will have to make do with this from kouj1328:
Ray Manzarek was the keyboard player in The Doors, and was still playing periodically as late as last year. Manzarek passed away on Monday at 74. Following is a 1968 concert clip of the band performing "Light My Fire", which features an organ solo by Manzarek:
We'll close with a little appropriate number, the Righteous Brothers' final hit, "Rock & Roll Heaven", written by Alan O'Day in 1974, with the following video culled from a 1981 concert.
Rest in peace, Alan & Ray.
Monday, May 20, 2013
What Might've Been: Misfits of Science (1985)
NBC was looking for something to replace Knight Rider on Fridays, something that would hook the action-adventure crowd. Unfortunately, their first attempt was not only a failure, but the network was lucky they weren't hit with a lawsuit of some kind.
Misfits of Science was conceived by network programming chief Brandon Tartikoff. Apparently, Tartikoff couldn't get Marvel to find a studio to adapt their wildly popular X-Men comics to television, and it would be another few years before those "merry mutants" would get there, via an animated series. So, Tartikoff did a sort-of end around with the Misfits, a trio of mutants, each with their own unique powers.
Misfits also holds a place in history as the first starring role for Courtney Cox (currently on Cougar Town). 9 years before Friends, and one year removed from grooving with Bruce Springsteen, Cox was cast as Gloria, a young woman with a history of juvenile delinquincy who was also blessed with telepathic abilities. The cast also included Kevin Peter Hall (who later had the title role in "Predator"), Dean Paul Martin, and Max Wright, the latter two as the team leader and his boss, respectively. There was a 4th Misfit, but this is where Universal and NBC were risking butting heads with Marvel over the name, Iceman, and so the Misfit by that name was cut after the 90 minute pilot and never mentioned again.
Misfits of Science had the tall order of trying to beat CBS' long running soap, Dallas, which was now firmly entrenched at 9 (ET), especially with Knight Rider gone. The series lasted less than six months before being cancelled.
Oliver Martin uploaded a sample episode:
Hall & Martin are no longer with us, and chances are more likely that Marvel would green-light a live-action X-Men series for primetime rather than have something like this be attempted again.
Rating: C.
Misfits of Science was conceived by network programming chief Brandon Tartikoff. Apparently, Tartikoff couldn't get Marvel to find a studio to adapt their wildly popular X-Men comics to television, and it would be another few years before those "merry mutants" would get there, via an animated series. So, Tartikoff did a sort-of end around with the Misfits, a trio of mutants, each with their own unique powers.
Misfits also holds a place in history as the first starring role for Courtney Cox (currently on Cougar Town). 9 years before Friends, and one year removed from grooving with Bruce Springsteen, Cox was cast as Gloria, a young woman with a history of juvenile delinquincy who was also blessed with telepathic abilities. The cast also included Kevin Peter Hall (who later had the title role in "Predator"), Dean Paul Martin, and Max Wright, the latter two as the team leader and his boss, respectively. There was a 4th Misfit, but this is where Universal and NBC were risking butting heads with Marvel over the name, Iceman, and so the Misfit by that name was cut after the 90 minute pilot and never mentioned again.
Misfits of Science had the tall order of trying to beat CBS' long running soap, Dallas, which was now firmly entrenched at 9 (ET), especially with Knight Rider gone. The series lasted less than six months before being cancelled.
Oliver Martin uploaded a sample episode:
Hall & Martin are no longer with us, and chances are more likely that Marvel would green-light a live-action X-Men series for primetime rather than have something like this be attempted again.
Rating: C.
Classic TV: All In The Family (1971)
All Norman Lear wanted to do was push the envelope. Did he ever.
All In The Family was a midseason replacement series when it launched on CBS in January 1971, and would go on to achieve iconic status, as well as birth a few spinoffs. Set in Queens, Family was built around blue collar worker Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), at the time an unrepentant bigot who had insults for every minority in reach. All Archie wanted was to settle down at home after a hard day at work, but conflict, it seemed, was dogging his trail, be it at home in domestic spats with wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), or son-in-law Mike (Rob Reiner), or getting into arguments at the neighborhood bar. As time wore on, however, Archie would mellow with age and become more tolerant.
The easy explanation for that would be that the early targets of his xenophobic tirades had moved on. There was Maude (Beatrice Arthur), Edith's cousin, who was spun into her own series as Family began its 3rd season. Archie also sparred with the Jefferson brothers, first Henry (Mel Stewart), and later, the more iconic George (Sherman Hemsley), who was practically the player on the other side. If Archie had so much hate toward African-Americans, George was venting against the whites. The Jeffersons was granted its own series in 1975, and lasted longer than Family did.
The ensemble cast was often changing. Stewart, presumably, left when he landed a role on a short-lived CBS military sitcom, Roll Out!, opening the door for Hemsley. Sitcom vet Allan Melvin, by this time a regular on The Brady Bunch, added Family to his workload as Barney, Archie's best buddy. Bob Hastings (ex-McHale's Navy) resurfaced as bar owner Tommy Kelsey, appearing periodically, such that he had time to try his hand as a game show host (Dealer's Choice) before leaving the series for good and eventually shifting to daytime and General Hospital. Near the end of the series, Archie bought the bar, which was later renamed Archie Bunker's Place as the franchise continued with a new look in 1979. Jean Stapleton was written out of the show shortly after Place launched, as Edith was killed off.
Place ran for four seasons, and Archie went through three business partners. Bartender Harry Snowden (Jason Wingreen) was the original, but sold his share to a businessman (Martin Balsam) whose liberal viewpoints were in tune with Mike's, amazingly. Balsam left halfway, and Barry Gordon (ex-Fish and for many years the voice of the Nesquik Bunny) took his place.
Thefamilyalbum uploaded the familiar open of Archie & Edith at the piano, dueting on "Those Were The Days", followed by the open for Archie Bunker's Place:
Carroll OConnor also co-wrote the show's instrumental closing theme, "Remembering You". If you've ever wondered if there were ever lyrics to "Remembering", well, wonder no more. Videoholic50s60s70s found this item, taken from The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, complete with intro by Sonny Bono:
Ray Conniff rearranged both themes for Place, giving it a Dixieland sound, though that seemed a little inappropriate, considering the series was still set in New York. Atlantic Records released an album of selected bits from Family, which included a guest appearance by future soap icon Anthony Geary (a few years before hitting it big on General Hospital). Unfortunately, the album isn't yet available on CD and may be just out of print. Hmmmmmm. Betty Garrett (Irene Lorenzo) left the show to take a recurring gig on Laverne & Shirley, remaining with that series up to its end, which, like Place, was in 1983.
Ratings:
All In The Family: B+.
Archie Bunker's Place: A.
All In The Family was a midseason replacement series when it launched on CBS in January 1971, and would go on to achieve iconic status, as well as birth a few spinoffs. Set in Queens, Family was built around blue collar worker Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), at the time an unrepentant bigot who had insults for every minority in reach. All Archie wanted was to settle down at home after a hard day at work, but conflict, it seemed, was dogging his trail, be it at home in domestic spats with wife Edith (Jean Stapleton), daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), or son-in-law Mike (Rob Reiner), or getting into arguments at the neighborhood bar. As time wore on, however, Archie would mellow with age and become more tolerant.
The easy explanation for that would be that the early targets of his xenophobic tirades had moved on. There was Maude (Beatrice Arthur), Edith's cousin, who was spun into her own series as Family began its 3rd season. Archie also sparred with the Jefferson brothers, first Henry (Mel Stewart), and later, the more iconic George (Sherman Hemsley), who was practically the player on the other side. If Archie had so much hate toward African-Americans, George was venting against the whites. The Jeffersons was granted its own series in 1975, and lasted longer than Family did.
The ensemble cast was often changing. Stewart, presumably, left when he landed a role on a short-lived CBS military sitcom, Roll Out!, opening the door for Hemsley. Sitcom vet Allan Melvin, by this time a regular on The Brady Bunch, added Family to his workload as Barney, Archie's best buddy. Bob Hastings (ex-McHale's Navy) resurfaced as bar owner Tommy Kelsey, appearing periodically, such that he had time to try his hand as a game show host (Dealer's Choice) before leaving the series for good and eventually shifting to daytime and General Hospital. Near the end of the series, Archie bought the bar, which was later renamed Archie Bunker's Place as the franchise continued with a new look in 1979. Jean Stapleton was written out of the show shortly after Place launched, as Edith was killed off.
Place ran for four seasons, and Archie went through three business partners. Bartender Harry Snowden (Jason Wingreen) was the original, but sold his share to a businessman (Martin Balsam) whose liberal viewpoints were in tune with Mike's, amazingly. Balsam left halfway, and Barry Gordon (ex-Fish and for many years the voice of the Nesquik Bunny) took his place.
Thefamilyalbum uploaded the familiar open of Archie & Edith at the piano, dueting on "Those Were The Days", followed by the open for Archie Bunker's Place:
Carroll OConnor also co-wrote the show's instrumental closing theme, "Remembering You". If you've ever wondered if there were ever lyrics to "Remembering", well, wonder no more. Videoholic50s60s70s found this item, taken from The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, complete with intro by Sonny Bono:
Ray Conniff rearranged both themes for Place, giving it a Dixieland sound, though that seemed a little inappropriate, considering the series was still set in New York. Atlantic Records released an album of selected bits from Family, which included a guest appearance by future soap icon Anthony Geary (a few years before hitting it big on General Hospital). Unfortunately, the album isn't yet available on CD and may be just out of print. Hmmmmmm. Betty Garrett (Irene Lorenzo) left the show to take a recurring gig on Laverne & Shirley, remaining with that series up to its end, which, like Place, was in 1983.
Ratings:
All In The Family: B+.
Archie Bunker's Place: A.
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