It was one of UPN's dumbest shows by far, but they thought SOOOOOO highly of it, they forced WWE to give up a half-hour of Smackdown one night so they could air a sneak preview of this supposed sure-fire hit. Oh, it was sure-fire all right----straight to the basement.
The Mullets was a silly little comedy about two adult brothers who behaved as if they never left their teenage years behind. Apparently, "out-freakin'-standing" was supposed to be a key catchphrase. The only episode I bothered to watch was one with wrestling legend Roddy Piper, who knows a few things about acting, as a guest-star, and an end-of-show parental advisory from co-star Loni Anderson (ex-WKRP in Cincinnati), who still looked hot, 25 years after WKRP made its debut. John O'Hurley, in between game shows at the time, was the other "name" co-star.
Here's the open:
The mullet hairdo has gone out of style, and was probably on its way out before this show hit the air.
Rating: D.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Musical Interlude: I Fought The Law (1966)
The Bobby Fuller Four only had on big hit, and, oh, how it resonates even now.
"I Fought The Law" is rather simplistic in its storytelling, about a man who committed crimes, got caught, and now regrets what he did.
I have no clue what show this comes from. If anyone can tell me, I'd appreciate it.
"I Fought The Law" is rather simplistic in its storytelling, about a man who committed crimes, got caught, and now regrets what he did.
I have no clue what show this comes from. If anyone can tell me, I'd appreciate it.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Classic TV: The World at War (1973)
England's Thames Television was at the center of a programming experiment with WOR of New York around 1976, the end result of which introduced the likes of Benny Hill and dramas as diverse as The Oneidin Line & The Sweeney to audiences in New York. Upstate viewers got in on the fun via cable, you see.
The 1973 documentary miniseries, The World at War wasn't really part of the Thames on 9 package, although some think it was. In truth, the series made its American debut on PBS in 1975, and aired on WOR in 1976, independent of the promotion.
Sir Laurence Olivier narrated The World at War, which aired on Sundays on WOR. My father, having served in World War II, made sure my brother & I would be watching, as this was, after all, educational in content. However, the series was edited for American broadcast to accomodate extra commercials, in addition to concerns over graphic content.
Thames has its own YouTube channel, from where we get the opening moments of one particular chapter, including the haunting opening credit montage.
Locally, it has aired on PBS at least once or twice since its WOR run, and is available on DVD.
Rating: A.
The 1973 documentary miniseries, The World at War wasn't really part of the Thames on 9 package, although some think it was. In truth, the series made its American debut on PBS in 1975, and aired on WOR in 1976, independent of the promotion.
Sir Laurence Olivier narrated The World at War, which aired on Sundays on WOR. My father, having served in World War II, made sure my brother & I would be watching, as this was, after all, educational in content. However, the series was edited for American broadcast to accomodate extra commercials, in addition to concerns over graphic content.
Thames has its own YouTube channel, from where we get the opening moments of one particular chapter, including the haunting opening credit montage.
Locally, it has aired on PBS at least once or twice since its WOR run, and is available on DVD.
Rating: A.
What Might've Been: The Bobby Goldsboro Show (1973)
In the 70's, almost every major pop star landed their own variety show. Some were successful (i.e Sonny & Cher, Bobby Vinton, Donny & Marie Osmond), while others have been unfairly forgotten.
Bobby Goldsboro was a regular on the Top 40, country, and adult contemporary charts in the 60's & 70's, and in 1973, he landed a self-titled, syndicated half hour show, which lasted 2 seasons. After having made guest appearances on the usual stops (i.e The Tonight Show), now Bobby was hoping to return the favor. The series served as an outlet for his classic hits, such as "Honey", "Watching Scotty Grow", and 1963's "See The Funny Little Clown", shown in the following video. The "10th anniversary" statue Bobby's sitting on represents the 10th anniversary of "Clown"'s original recording, and maybe Goldsboro's recording career.
Bobby Goldsboro's still active, but not as much in music as you'd think. He's also taken up oil painting, and created a children's series in 1995, for which he voiced all the characters. I'll have to locate that one down the road........
Rating: B.
Bobby Goldsboro was a regular on the Top 40, country, and adult contemporary charts in the 60's & 70's, and in 1973, he landed a self-titled, syndicated half hour show, which lasted 2 seasons. After having made guest appearances on the usual stops (i.e The Tonight Show), now Bobby was hoping to return the favor. The series served as an outlet for his classic hits, such as "Honey", "Watching Scotty Grow", and 1963's "See The Funny Little Clown", shown in the following video. The "10th anniversary" statue Bobby's sitting on represents the 10th anniversary of "Clown"'s original recording, and maybe Goldsboro's recording career.
Bobby Goldsboro's still active, but not as much in music as you'd think. He's also taken up oil painting, and created a children's series in 1995, for which he voiced all the characters. I'll have to locate that one down the road........
Rating: B.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Weasels of the Week: Matthew Lombardo & Donald Sterling
You've heard of the term, "full-court press" in basketball, right? It's nothing compared to what Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is facing now.
The 80-year-old Sterling has been accused of making some racist remarks to a now-former mistress in a recorded conversation that somehow ended up in the possession of the likes of scandal-mongering sites like Deadspin and TMZ. Supposedly, he's incensed because said mistress, V (for Vivian) Stiviano had a picture posted on Instagram with 80's icon Earvin "Magic" Johnson, now one of the owners of baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers.
Then, the media reports came pouring out about how Sterling's been like this for years, and that former commissioner David Stern tended to look the other way, and let Sterling, because he's a millionaire, pass. He's supposedly not only racist, but also a misogynist, making sexist remarks as well. Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver now has to make an important decision. Suspending Sterling is easy. Getting him to give up the Clippers isn't. However, the media, particularly ESPN, one of the league's media partners, is picturing a scenario that, ironically, has Johnson, who starred for LA's other NBA team, the Lakers, buying the team. Would that the NBA could dream up a similar scenario to get rid of the worst owner in the league after Sterling, Knicks owner James Dolan, but that's for another time.
However, the key word here is "accused". We don't know for sure if Sterling's voice was actually on that tape. All that needs be done is to do a audio match, comparing the voice on the tape to any interview that's been conducted in recent years with Sterling. You see that occasionally in the movies.
What bothers me more is that Sterling is married, but has had these other women on the side, which, above all else, makes an immoral, unrepentant Weasel.
In New York, the Daily News reported in today's edition that playwright Matthew Lombardo is suing actress Valerie Harper for $2 million, alleging that the 70's icon (Rhoda) didn't fully disclose that her cancer had spread to her brain a year ago, before she was to go on tour in a production she had starred in on Broadway. Ms. Harper had to drop out, replaced by another TV icon, Stefanie Powers (ex-Hart To Hart) in the play, a bio on actress Tallulah Bankhead. Lombardo is claiming lost revenues resulting from Valerie Harper's resignation from the production. You want to talk about kicking someone when they're down? Give to me the break!
The Daily News accurately described Lombardo's lawsuit as a "cash grab", which is really what it is, plus a grab for 15 minutes of infamy. If Valerie and her husband felt she could go through with this project in spite of her condition, well, they had no way of knowing that the cancer, which started in her lungs, would move all the way up to her brain, contrary to what Lombardo is alleging. As for Lombardo, our East Coast Weasel this week, do yourself a favor, pal, and do some research into your claims before you say something you'll regret later.
The 80-year-old Sterling has been accused of making some racist remarks to a now-former mistress in a recorded conversation that somehow ended up in the possession of the likes of scandal-mongering sites like Deadspin and TMZ. Supposedly, he's incensed because said mistress, V (for Vivian) Stiviano had a picture posted on Instagram with 80's icon Earvin "Magic" Johnson, now one of the owners of baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers.
Then, the media reports came pouring out about how Sterling's been like this for years, and that former commissioner David Stern tended to look the other way, and let Sterling, because he's a millionaire, pass. He's supposedly not only racist, but also a misogynist, making sexist remarks as well. Current NBA commissioner Adam Silver now has to make an important decision. Suspending Sterling is easy. Getting him to give up the Clippers isn't. However, the media, particularly ESPN, one of the league's media partners, is picturing a scenario that, ironically, has Johnson, who starred for LA's other NBA team, the Lakers, buying the team. Would that the NBA could dream up a similar scenario to get rid of the worst owner in the league after Sterling, Knicks owner James Dolan, but that's for another time.
However, the key word here is "accused". We don't know for sure if Sterling's voice was actually on that tape. All that needs be done is to do a audio match, comparing the voice on the tape to any interview that's been conducted in recent years with Sterling. You see that occasionally in the movies.
What bothers me more is that Sterling is married, but has had these other women on the side, which, above all else, makes an immoral, unrepentant Weasel.
In New York, the Daily News reported in today's edition that playwright Matthew Lombardo is suing actress Valerie Harper for $2 million, alleging that the 70's icon (Rhoda) didn't fully disclose that her cancer had spread to her brain a year ago, before she was to go on tour in a production she had starred in on Broadway. Ms. Harper had to drop out, replaced by another TV icon, Stefanie Powers (ex-Hart To Hart) in the play, a bio on actress Tallulah Bankhead. Lombardo is claiming lost revenues resulting from Valerie Harper's resignation from the production. You want to talk about kicking someone when they're down? Give to me the break!
The Daily News accurately described Lombardo's lawsuit as a "cash grab", which is really what it is, plus a grab for 15 minutes of infamy. If Valerie and her husband felt she could go through with this project in spite of her condition, well, they had no way of knowing that the cancer, which started in her lungs, would move all the way up to her brain, contrary to what Lombardo is alleging. As for Lombardo, our East Coast Weasel this week, do yourself a favor, pal, and do some research into your claims before you say something you'll regret later.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Cult Classic: The Greatest American Hero (1981)
School teachers are regarded as real-life heroes, trying to help their students reach their full potential.
Stephen J. Cannell came up with the idea of making a teacher a different kind of hero, with the results falling along the lines of camp comedy in most cases.
The Greatest American Hero premiered in the winter of 1981 with a 2-hour TV-movie, then went right to a regular series, anchoring ABC's Wednesday night lineup for three seasons. Sure, it was pure, escapist fun, good while it lasted, but it didn't last too long, and perhaps maybe it was for the best.
Second generation actor William Katt (son of Perry Mason co-star Barbara Hale) top-lined as special education teacher Ralph Hinkley, who was given his "union suit", as they say in the comics, by an alien in a random encounter in the desert, at which point he was also introduced to his FBI contact/partner, Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp, ex-I Spy). The super-suit comes with an instruction manual, which Ralph loses. Uh-oh. Expect much chaos.
As Maxwell, Culp comes across more as a fast-talking hustler in order to coax Ralph into his missions. On the other hand, his divorce lawyer-turned-girlfriend (Connie Sellecca) provides some inspiration. Culp also wrote & directed one episode.
After the series ended, NBC decided to give it a whirl, rebooting it with a female lead, but then turned right around and rejected the pilot, which was later shoe-horned into the syndication package. It's also available as a stand-alone DVD you could probably find in a bargain basket at Walmart or Target. Interestingly, ABC executives Marcy Carsey & Tom Werner left the network after the series launched to form their own production company. In more recent times, Katt was able to gain the rights to adapt the series into-----a comic book. A miniseries was published, written by Katt. Go figure.
By way of YouTube, here's the episode, "The 200 MPH Fastball", in which Ralph goes undercover as a baseball pitcher in the heat of a pennant race.
Stephen J. Cannell came up with the idea of making a teacher a different kind of hero, with the results falling along the lines of camp comedy in most cases.
The Greatest American Hero premiered in the winter of 1981 with a 2-hour TV-movie, then went right to a regular series, anchoring ABC's Wednesday night lineup for three seasons. Sure, it was pure, escapist fun, good while it lasted, but it didn't last too long, and perhaps maybe it was for the best.
Second generation actor William Katt (son of Perry Mason co-star Barbara Hale) top-lined as special education teacher Ralph Hinkley, who was given his "union suit", as they say in the comics, by an alien in a random encounter in the desert, at which point he was also introduced to his FBI contact/partner, Bill Maxwell (Robert Culp, ex-I Spy). The super-suit comes with an instruction manual, which Ralph loses. Uh-oh. Expect much chaos.
As Maxwell, Culp comes across more as a fast-talking hustler in order to coax Ralph into his missions. On the other hand, his divorce lawyer-turned-girlfriend (Connie Sellecca) provides some inspiration. Culp also wrote & directed one episode.
After the series ended, NBC decided to give it a whirl, rebooting it with a female lead, but then turned right around and rejected the pilot, which was later shoe-horned into the syndication package. It's also available as a stand-alone DVD you could probably find in a bargain basket at Walmart or Target. Interestingly, ABC executives Marcy Carsey & Tom Werner left the network after the series launched to form their own production company. In more recent times, Katt was able to gain the rights to adapt the series into-----a comic book. A miniseries was published, written by Katt. Go figure.
By way of YouTube, here's the episode, "The 200 MPH Fastball", in which Ralph goes undercover as a baseball pitcher in the heat of a pennant race.
Edit, 11/18/24: The video has been deleted. In its place is a network promo by Ernie Anderson.
The theme song, sung by Joey Scarbury, hit #2 on the Hot 100 in August 1981, which was certainly higher than the show's Nielsen ratings, that's for sure.
Rating: B.
The theme song, sung by Joey Scarbury, hit #2 on the Hot 100 in August 1981, which was certainly higher than the show's Nielsen ratings, that's for sure.
Rating: B.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Musical Interlude: Ode to Billie Joe (1967)
From The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour comes an all-time country classic.
Bobbie Gentry's haunting "Ode to Billie Joe" was later adapted into a feature film in 1976, produced and directed by Max Baer, Jr. (ex-The Beverly Hillbillies), but it all started with a little piece of Southern Gothic tragedy, which, in fact, was edited down from its original length to make it available to radio.
Bobbie Gentry's haunting "Ode to Billie Joe" was later adapted into a feature film in 1976, produced and directed by Max Baer, Jr. (ex-The Beverly Hillbillies), but it all started with a little piece of Southern Gothic tragedy, which, in fact, was edited down from its original length to make it available to radio.
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