This month we are looking at some classic game shows from the sixties and seventies. The Newlywed Game which aired a year after The Dating Game, debuted was often partnered with The Dating Game. The Newlywed Game was created by Robert Nicholson and E. Roger Muir and both shows were produced by Chuck Barris.
Photo: pinterest.com
The premise of the show featured three couples, recently wed. The men would leave the set while the women were asked specific questions, and then the husbands were brought back to see how well they knew their spouses. In the second half of the show the women went off stage. Whichever couple had the most points at the end of the night received a prize.
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The host was Bob Eubanks. His trademark phrase was “making whoopee” which is how he got around talking about sex without using words he could not say.
Apparently, the show led to several divorces. I read a lot of sources that made that claim, but I could not verify any couples that actually divorced because of the show.
In 1977 a syndicated version of the show was created that was identical to the original ABC entity. The show was canceled in 1980 when another one of Barris’ shows, 3’s A Crowd created a lot of controversy. In that show, a man’s wife and secretary would compete to see who knew him best. It resulted in so many complaints that all Barris’ shows were canceled.
However, the show was revived from 1985-1989 and again from 1996-1999. Eubanks continued his hosting duties in the first reboot until 1988 when he was replaced with Paul Rodriguez. The 1996 version was emceed by Gary Kroeger but after the ratings did not increase, Eubanks was brought back from retirement. Its first announcer was Johnny Jacobs who also hosted The Dating Game. In the other versions, there were a variety of announcers.
Photo: metv.com
Barris wrote a song “Summertime Guy” for singer Eddie Rambeau. He was banned from singing it on American Bandstand because Barris was employed by the same network. Barris wanted to use the song for something so he had it arranged as an instrumental by Milton DeLugg and it was recorded by Trumpets Ole, a similar style of band to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass who did the music for The Dating Game.
Most of the original episodes don’t exist any longer. Many were unairable due to color deterioration. A few episodes were somehow saved and have been seen on GSN, the Game Show Network.
Hasbro made board games for The Newlywed Game so everyone could argue at home as well as on the show.
Although I watched this show from time to time, I cannot say I watched it often or was a fan of the show. I do remember more contestants being mad than happy during their appearance on the show.
I think I consider it a blessing that not many of the original episodes exist. Once was probably enough to watch this game show.
This month we are taking a look back at some of the game shows on television in the fifties and sixties. If you grew up in that era you will definitely remember The Dating Game. Airing in December of 1965, it was created by Chuck Barris who would create many game shows and might be known best for The Gong Show.
Photo: latimes.com
The original host was Jim Lange. The show was revived several times, a trend we continue to see with Match Game and the 100,000 Pyramid among other shows that have appeared in different decades. The original series was on the air until 1973. Jim Lange continued to host for the syndicated version in 1973 which only lasted a year and again in 1978 without the participation of Barris. Johnny Jacobs was the announcer with Lange. In 1986 the show was rebooted with Elaine Joyce as host, followed by Jeff MacGregor for 1987 and 1988. The show popped up again in 1996 with Brad Sherwood hosting, again followed by Chuck Woolery for two years.
The Newlywed Game, which we’ll discuss next week, was often packaged with The Dating Game for an hour of programming beginning in 1966.
Photo: throwback.com
If you are not familiar with the show, three bachelors would sit on stools behind a wall and a bachelorette on the other side asked the three men questions. Every once in a while, things would reverse with the man asking questions to three women. She referred to them as Bachelor No. 1, 2, and 3. At the end of the question-and-answer period, the bachelorette would choose one of the three and the pair would go on a date with the show paying the expenses. The dates began as expensive dinners, but when the show went to primetime in 1966 exotic locations like Paris or Hawaii were the destinations, and the couples were chaperoned.
That chaperone would have been very important in the case of Rodney Alcala, one of the bachelors chosen for a date in 1978. Jim Lange introduced him as a successful photographer. At that time, there was no technology available to conduct background checks which would have already flagged him as potentially dangerous. Cheryl Bradshaw, the bachelorette, found him creepy and refused to go on the date. It was later learned that by the time he made his appearance on the show, he had killed at least two women in California and two in New York. After the episode aired, he continued his serial killing career and killed between 8-120 women in a nine-year time span. He was on death row at San Quentin Prison and is currently serving his time at the Corcoran State Prison with his execution postponed due to a moratorium on the death penalty in the state.
Bradshaw was not the only contestant who refused to go on the date. Many contestants chose to skip that once they met in person.
Photo: thewisdomdaily.com
Barris had a problem with the show in that so many of the responses were not appropriate to put on the air. Often, they were crude or had sexual connotations. Finally, he came up with a creative solution. He hired an actor to dress like an enforcement official. He appeared in the dressing room before the bachelors were sent to the set. He told them any profanity or sexual references would be a violation of the FCC policy which was a federal offense, and it could lead to jail time. This was not true, but the bachelors did not know that, and Barris said the threat took care of his problem.
Suzanne Somers Photo: groovyhistory.com
While I do remember seeing Mel Harris as a contestant on Pyramid reruns, and I’m sure that happens sometimes on game shows, this show really hit the jackpot with contestants who later became celebrities including Yvonne Craig, Farrah Fawcett, Leif Garrett, Phil Hartman, Don Johnson, Andy Kaufman, Steve Martin, Lee Majors, Burt Reynolds, Michael Richards, John Ritter, Tom Selleck, Suzanne Somers, and Lindsay Wagner.
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The set screamed 1960s with colorful daisy-like shapes on the wall designed by Art Director George Smith. The flowers were vivid sixties colors. The show ended with the winning contestants and Lange blowing kisses to the audience.
The music was also easily identifiable with the show. Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass songs were used in the three different parts of the show. “Spanish Flea” before introducing the bachelor, “Whipped Cream” when introducing the bachelorette, and “Lollipops and Roses” when the couple first meets.
The show was a hit from the beginning. Airing during the day in 1965, in 1966 it switched to primetime.
If watching the show was not enough excitement, you could play at home. Hasbro released three different games based on the show. In 1968, an album was recorded called The Dating Game Party Pak. Jim Lange narrated the album and packaged with it were invitations, name tags, and scorecards.
As for “happy ever afters,” I could only find two mentions of potential marriage from the show, and I could not verify either one of them. Barris said the network told him he needed to have at least one couple end up together; one couple discussed marriage and the network was involved with it but they called it off right beforehand; the other was a reporter who Barris knew would not give the show favorable publicity, so he apparently had three call girls as contestants and asked the reporter to be on the show. The reporter and one of the prostitutes went on their date, hit it off, and apparently, married. Happy ever after? Who knows?
Like Laugh In, this was a show that could only have come out of the late sixties and early seventies. While I do remember watching the show often, I think it was probably because my parents were watching it. I’ll take Jeopardy, Concentration, or Sale of the Century any day.
If you love history, you may have been a fan of Downton Abbey. This British historical drama was created by Julian Fellowes and written by Fellowes, Shelagh Stephenson, and Tina Pepler. The show debuted on television in 2010 in England and in the United States in 2011.
Cast Photo Photo: hellomagazine.com
As the show begins, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), Earl of Grantham, has married American heiress Cora Levinson (Elizabeth McGovern). We learn that the Crawley family has had financial difficulties and the marriage is a way to save the family and their property. Robert and Cora have three daughters and no son.
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The oldest daughter, Mary (Michelle Dockery), agrees to marry her cousin Patrick. As the show begins, the family learns that both Patrick and his father James have died in the Titanic disaster. The new family heir is now Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), a distant cousin who is the son of an upper-middle-class doctor. Eventually, Mary and Matthew become close. Matthew proposes and Mary wants to accept but when her mother becomes pregnant, she delays her answer knowing that a brother would take Matthew’s place as family heir. When her mother has a miscarriage, she accepts the proposal, but Matthew rescinds the proposal assuming she is not as interested in him as he hoped. The first season ends with the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the start of WWI. The youngest Crawley daughter Isobel is played by Penelope Wilton.
In season two Matthew and Mary are reunited. They plan to be married during season three. Robert realizes that his entire fortune including his wife’s dowry is now gone after he invested it in the Grand Trunk Railway. Robert and Matthew agree to run the estate together, although later Robert will resist any efforts on Matthew’s part to make the estate more modern and more profitable. Mary becomes pregnant and returns to her home to give birth and while she is there, she learns that Matthew has been killed in a car crash. Downton Abbey serves as a hospital on the show for soldiers during WWI. In reality, Highclere Castle also served as a convalescent home for soldiers during that war.
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Season four is set in 1922-23. Mary is Matthew’s sole heir which gives her management of the estate until their son George comes of age. Mary settles back into life at the estate with her son. Two men, Lord Gillingham (Tom Cullen) and Charles Blake (Julian Ovenden), are interested in her but she is still mourning. Mary’s sister Edith (Laura Carmichael) begins writing a weekly newspaper column and she falls in love with her editor, Michael, a married man whose wife has been confined to an asylum for some time. Michael travels to Germany where he plans on becoming a citizen and then will be allowed a divorce from his wife which Great Britain prohibits. While there, he is killed by Hitler’s men during a riot. Edith, who is pregnant and has kept it secret, goes abroad to give birth and places her child with a family in Switzerland. She later finds her daughter Marigold (Eva Karina Samms) and gives her to a family who lives on the estate.
Season five finds the family in 1924. Charles Blake, still interested in Mary, decides to try to reunite Lord Gillingham with his former fiancée Mabel. In the meantime, Edith inherits Michael’s publishing company. Cora learns that Marigold is actually Edith’s daughter but the truth is kept from Mary.
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Season 6 is set in 1925. Many wealthy families in England are being forced to sell their large estates. Bertie Pelham (Harry Hadden-Paton) proposes to Edith but she does not know if she should accept because of Marigold. Edith eventually accepts and reveals the truth about her daughter to her mother-in-law who supports her because of her honesty. Mary marries Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode).
Of course, there were dozens of subplots based on other characters living nearby and the household staff that added interest to each season.
Photo: inside highclere Photo: pinterest.com
The series was filmed at Highclere Castle in North Hampshire. Many outdoor scenes were shot in Oxfordshire, including St. Mary’s the Virgin Church and the rectory in Bampton.
The opening theme is “Did I Make the Most of Loving You?,” composed by John Lunn.
The show was praised by critics. Metacritic gave it a rating of 91/100. The show received a Guinness World Record for the highest critical review acclaim for a TV show. Breaking Bad would overtake that record in its fourth season with a rating of 96/100.
The series was congratulated for a sympathetic portrayal of a wealthy family rather than ridiculing them. Sam Wollaston of The Guardian said that “it’s beautifully made—handsome, artfully crafted and acted. [Maggie] Smith, who plays the formidable and disdainful Dowager Countess, has a lovely way of delivering words, always spaced to perfection. This is going to be a treat if you like a lavish period drama on a Sunday evening.”
The Crawley Women Photo: town&countrymagazine.com
Fellowes said a tremendous amount of research went into making all aspects of the show realistic. Costume designer Anna Robbins said she found many pieces of vintage clothing in her native Scotland and went to Paris annually to buy items. They were then painstakingly restored by Anna and costumer Caroline McCall. The furniture was based on a real-life photo of the house during that era. The show was so popular that an exhibit featuring original props, costumes, jewelry, kitchenware, and other items toured various world cities.
Because of the attention to detail, each episode cost more than $1 million dollars to produce.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is among the show’s fans. She had been a guest at Highclere castle.
The show was nominated for sixteen Emmys in its home country of England. With so many fans and awards, why was the show canceled? Apparently, the characters found their happy endings, the plots were resolved, Maggie Smith had decided not to return to the show, and the show was coming to an era where the estate would not have been able to be maintained. By 1930, it was hard to find domestic staffs for large homes and the estates were too expensive to operate, which was made worse when taxes increased after the war. Fellowes wrote a letter to American fans saying, “We wanted to leave while we would still be missed and not wait until everyone was dying to see the back of us.” However, it wasn’t truly over because the movie Downton Abbey came out in 2019.
Photo: evoke.ie
I have to admit I have never seen the show. I have a self-imposed rule that I need to watch at least several episodes of each show before discussing them in my blog. This time I made an exception because I do have plans to watch this one. During the time it was on, I did read about it often and felt like I had a good understanding of the plots and characters. With only 52 episodes total, it can easily be watched within a month. I do love history, and I am looking forward to studying all the cultural history that this show displays. For those of you who have seen it, I would live to hear your thoughts on what you loved or did not enjoy about the series.
We are learning about some adult PBS shows this month that inspire us. We have learned about shows that inspire our collecting and our cooking, but one of my favorite things is travel, and today we get inspiration for getting away. Any time you are stuck at home with the travel bug (hint, think any moment from the last two years), turn on the TV and tune into Rick Steves’ Europe. This travel documentary series was created by Steves and is hosted by him.
The show is produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting. It debuted in 2000 with 152 episodes being released, as well as a few specials. Steves spends about a third of his year filming TV shows and researching locations for his guide books.
Photo: ricksteveseurope.com
Rick was born in 1955. His love of Europe began when he was 14. His parents owned a piano store, and the family traveled to Europe to check out piano factories. Steve kept a journal of their travels. He stored postcards and numbered them to remember the trip. After high school, he attended the University of Washington, majoring in European history and business administration. He wrote his first travel book in 1979. Before Rick Steves’ Europe, he had another show on PBS called Travels in Europe with Rick Steves from 1991-1998.
His travel philosophy encourages people to explore destinations that are not tourist-centered spots and to learn more about European lifestyles. He also has a radio show called “Travel with Rick Steves” and has authored numerous travel guides and newspaper columns. He donates royalties from one of his books to Bread for the World, an organization to end hunger. His newest venture is an app called “Rick Steves Audio Europe” which features self-guided walking tours.
Photo: kbps.com
Rick designs all the tours that are featured on the series. He emphasizes trying local cuisine and encourages making discoveries on your own that you might not see on the show. Annually, he takes about 30,000 people to Europe, utilizing 100 native guides.
His PBS series is one of the most popular and longest-running travel series. With long-time producer Simon Griffith and cameraman Karel Bauer, Rick lets visitors, physically and mentally, learn about the best B&Bs in Tuscany; play backgammon in Turkey; hike on Alpine ridges in Switzerland; and eat tapas in Spain or pub-grub in Ireland.
As we have seen throughout the past year, Steves was also grounded by COVID-19. His travel strolls were limited to his own neighborhood. He realized that as things open up, his tours will still have to wait for an extended period of time. Because he likes to visit small, cozy villages and interact closely with Europeans, he knows this will require a bit more patience. As he says, “So, the whole beauty of travel for me is people. And that’ll come back, but I’m gonna be patient.”
Photo: heraldnet.com
Until that happens, you can find a lot of interesting information on his website. It’s all free. He also has a Europe Bingo. Download and print the Bingo cards and learn about the great European cities while streaming an episode of his show.
Steves’ motto is “Keep on Travelin.’” Luckily for us, watching his show will allow us to do so no matter how often we are stuck in our living rooms.
Earlier in the year we looked at some kids shows on PBS. This month it’s the adults turn. You can learn so many fun facts and become inspired on PBS. Up today is a show that has now been on a quarter of a century. Antiques Roadshow began on the BBC as a special in 1977. In 1979 it became a regular series in Great Britain. The American version was produced under a BBC license at WGBH in Boston in 1996 and began airing in 1997.
Pottery segments are some of my very favorites Photo: kpbs.com
Traveling around the country to different cities, antique owners bring in their personal items to be discussed and appraised on the show.
Chris Jussel was the host for the first four seasons. Contemporary art expert Dan Elias took over from 2001-2003. Lara Spencer, who had been a correspondent on Good Morning America, moved into the seat for seasons 8 and 9. Actor and game show host Mark Walberg became the host after she left.
For the first nineteen seasons. the hour-long episode began with the host introducing the location. Most cities had three programs devoted to their location. The format showed a variety of items being evaluated by a variety of appraisers with knowledge of different categories of collectibles. Throughout the show, you would see shorter segments at the tables where a very brief appraisal was given for a couple of items. Halfway through the show, the host would explain more about the city or location where the show was being filmed. Often, shows were held in city convention centers or hotel ballrooms. The show ended with taped comments from the Feedback Booth where people discussed what they learned about their items. Some episodes would then have a Hidden Treasures segment where one or two items that were more rare or expensive or old would be given a more thorough appraisal.
Behind the scenes Photo: pbs.org
In season 16, a few small changes occurred to the format. New logos,as well as opening and closing credits were designed. A new set was created. Most of the host’s appearances including the halfway segment were dropped. Beginning in season 23, more shows were filmed at historic sites and parks, rather than city or commercial buildings. Walberg left the show in season 23, and Coral Pena took over the voiceover duties.
Author Jason Reynolds on celebrity edition Photo: pbs.org
Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic affected the television industry and Antiques Roadshow was no exception. The limited number of episodes that aired in 2021 were conducted with celebrities instead of a variety of antique owners. I thought they were very interesting shows. Four celebrities were included in each hour: my favorite collections were with Jay Leno, Jason Reynolds, S. Epatha Merkerson, Marc Brown, and Nancy Kerrigan.
Tickets are free but are provided on a random basis. Viewers must fill out a form on the website and if you receive a ticket, you also receive a free appraisal whether your segment makes it on the air or not. Keep in mind, if you wear clothing with a business logo, you are automatically not appearing on television; the show cannot take time to contact all business owners for permission.
On the filming day, visitors check in at designated times and wait in line to see an appraiser. About 150 of the appraisals are taped, and approximately 30 of them make it on the final show. What if you live alone and want your antique dresser appraised? If the show thinks the item is interesting, they will move it free. If you receive a ticket, you can submit photos of your furniture to the producers and they will pick it up and return it in a 60-mile radius of the host city. However interesting some items are, there are several types of collectibles that the show won’t appraise including cars, stamps, currency, coins, fossils, tools, ammunition, and explosives.
Former Playboy Bunny items appraised by Laura Woolley Photo: arizonapublicmedia.com
Typically. there are about seventy people appraising at each site. Antiques Roadshow uses volunteer appraisers and does not pay them or cover travel expenses. However, they do receive a few free meals that day. While they cannot buy or sell any items that day, they do get national exposure. To learn more about the appraisers, you can go to pbs.org and find the Antiques Roadshow page. You can also learn their rules and the cities that they will be visiting, along with a lot of other interesting information.
Sports are always popular Photo: leiladunbar.com
While items are often identified as fakes or reproductions, there have been some very significant finds on Antiques Roadshow. The most expensive appraisal never made it on the air. The owner preferred not to let America see who had this rare collection. It was a collection of autographs from every Presidential cabinet member from Washington to Franklin Roosevelt and was valued at a million dollars.
Some of the other fun collectibles included: a set of Chinese cups carved from rhinoceros horns from the late 17th century, valued at over a million dollars; sports appraiser Leila Dunbar valued a Bost Red Stockings 1870s memorabilia set at a million dollars in 2015; a never-worn Rolex Oyster Daytona Chronograph watch was valued at $500,000-700,000; and a set of Charles Schulz Peanuts comic art at $450,000. A New Jersey woman bought a card table at a garage sale for $25 and sold it for half a million.
The show draws about 8 million viewers a week and is very popular with PBS financial supporters.
Antiques Roadshow has been nominated for more than 19 Emmys. It has won more nominations than any other reality show, but it has never won an award.
Not worth $50,000 (except to her parents) Photo: cbc.ca
I could not find too many mishaps on the show, so either the network keeps them very quiet or they have been very lucky. One vase was appraised for $50,000 which later turned out to be made by a local high school student and valued much, much, much less. One man collapsed and fell after learning the value of his object, but I’m sure it was embarrassing for him so I won’t share the location and item from that incident.
While I have always loved history, I remember seeing the show as a parent of toddlers and thinking it had some interesting pieces but seemed like “an old person’s show” and about ten years ago, I began to watch it regularly so I either misjudged it or I am now an old person; if you have an opinion, I’ll let you keep it to yourself!
The always popular Keno brothers Photo: npr.org
As a museum curator, I have learned some valuable information that I have been able apply to items in our collection. What I love most about the show is that there is something for everyone: handmade furniture, first-edition books, beautiful pottery, sports memorabilia, clothing from the entertainment field, and on and on. There is a reason the show has been on the air for 25 years so if you have never seen it, check it out this year.
This month we are looking at adult PBS shows that inspire us. Today we check out a show that has intimidated and inspired thousands of us: The French Chef hosted by Julia Child. I think Julia’s life was a fascinating one. I spend a lot of my time reading biographies and Julia’s biography Dearie by Bob Spitz is one of my all-time favorites.
Simone, Louisette and Julia Photo: mae’sfoodblog.com
For those of you who are not as familiar with her life, Julia was born in 1912 to a wealthy family in Pasadena, CA. She had a younger brother and sister. She was very athletic and went to Smith College in Massachusetts, graduating with a major in history. After graduation, she moved to New York City to work as a copywriter for an advertising company. She joined the OSS, the precursor to the CIA in 1942. She became a research assistant in the Secret Intelligence division. She later was posted to Sri Lanka where she met Paul Cushing Child who would become her husband in 1946. After the war, he joined the US Foreign Service, and the couple moved to Paris. Paul introduced Julia to a more sophisticated cuisine. While trying to find something to keep her busy in Paris, she enrolled in the Cordon Bleu cooking school and later studied with well-known chefs. When she met Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, the trio decided to write a French cookbook for Americans. Paul and Julia eventually settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts but also had a home in Provence.
Photo: pbs.org
In 1963 Julia gave a presentation about omelette-making on WGBH, the Boston PBS station from the book she wrote with her friends, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. After a last-minute cancellation by a guest on one of the on-air shows, Julia agreed to fill in. When Paul and Julia watched the show on their black and white television in Cambridge, Julia was horrified. She said she looked like Mrs. Steam Engine careening across the screen, panting heavily. “There I was in black and white, a large woman sloshing eggs too quickly here, too slowly there.”
It was so popular, that it became a weekly television show airing for a decade from 1963-1973. It was one of the first cooking shows on television. There was not a lot of money for shows on public television. Volunteers came in to wash dishes, and Julia’s creations were often auctioned after the show to raise money.
Julia and Crew Photo: pbs.org
NET, which would become PBS, continued the show in reruns until 1989. Some episodes have also been run on other networks including the Cooking Channel and Create; they are also available on PBS’s streaming service.
In 1964, Julia received a Peabody Award because they said her program did “more than show us how good cooking is achieved; by her delightful demonstrations she has brought the pleasures of good living into many American homes.” In 1966, Time magazine said that “So good is she that men who have not the slightest intention of going to the kitchen for anything but ice cubes watch her for pure enjoyment.” 1966 was also the year she won an Emmy.
At the time Julia and company wrote their book, French cuisine was considered expensive and difficult; it was typically reserved for ordering in restaurants, not making at home. The show was done live, so mishaps were not uncommon. During the second episode, she was so busy “chatting” that the onion soup burned. Instead of acknowledging it, she just discussed the “wonderful smell.” She would often burn butter, drop food, spill sauces, and have other little incidents that all of us experience in the kitchen weekly. Never one to be embarrassed much, Julia just accepted them and turned them into teachable moments. When she dropped a potato pancake on the stove, she just said “Oh, that didn’t go very well. But you can always pick it up. If you are alone in the kitchen, who is going to see?”
Photo: tastingtable.com
I thought it was interesting that Julia’s show beginning in 1971 was the first television show to include captions for deaf viewers. And speaking of firsts, Child was the first woman inducted into the Culinary Institutes of America’s Hall of Fame. She also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush in 2003.
If you watched this show there are things that you fondly remember including her love of good wine, her unique voice, her loyalty to butter and abhorrence of margarine, needing a very clean towel in the kitchen, and her closing each show with “This is Julia Child, Bon Appetit!” Of course, even if you did not watch this show, you will likely be familiar with these same points because whenever Julia is spoofed by comedians, these elements are part of the sketch.
Viewers loved her show. Apparently, grocery stores reported that after her episodes aired, they often ran out of ingredients she used in her dishes that week. Julia produced two books to accompany the show: The French Chef Cookbook and From Julia Child’s Kitchen.
In the eighties and nineties, Julia continued to host television programs, and the later shows invited celebrity chefs into her kitchen to cook. Her lessons were always memorable. Some viewers recall her tickling lobsters, showing the cuts of meat on her own body, and using exotic tools. While making crème brulee, she employed an interesting tool, saying “Every woman needs a blowtorch.”
PBS has a website devoted to Julia. Her kitchen, which was designed by Paul, now has a home at the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
Julia and Paul Photo: smithonianmagazine.com
Julia did not see cooking as a boring duty but as “an immense pleasure and a true creative outlet.” She further said that “we should enjoy food and have fun. It is one of the simplest and nicest pleasures in life.” Who can argue with that? If ever there was a television series to inspire us, The French Chef was it. I do remember my mom watching this show occasionally, but I have to admit our weekly dinners never reflected any of the recipes. Perhaps having five kids running through the kitchen did not lend itself well to cooking quiche and using a blowtorch. Julia’s best advice for everyone: “Learn how to cook—try new recipes, learn from your mistakes, be fearless, and above all, have fun.” Thank you so much Julia Child for teaching us to cook, to try new things, to learn from our mistakes, and especially, to have fun while doing it.
We are on the last week of our Teen Scene blog series. We began the month with Melissa Joan Hart in Clarissa Explains It All, and we end with Melissa Joan Hart in Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
Photo: wonderwall.com
Clarissa Explains It All went off the air in 1994, and two years later Sabrina hit the airwaves. The show was on ABC from Fall of 1996 until May of 2000 and then moved to The WB network for three seasons, going off the air in April of 2003.
Photo: usmagazine.com
Neil Scovell created the show based on the Sabrina the Teenage Witch character from the Archie comic series. The premise was that on her sixteenth birthday, Sabrina (Hart) learns that she has magical powers. She lives with her aunts who she learns are 600 years old and also witches: Hilda (Caroline Rhea) and Zelda (Beth Broderick) and their cat Salem who is also magical. Salem was voiced by Nick Bakay. The three family members live in Boston.
A lot of the plots are based on spells that don’t go quite right as Sabrina learns her magic skills. Unlike Bewitched, it’s her father’s side of the family that she inherited her powers from. Other plots come from the circumstances that arise as she tries to keep the fact that she is a witch from her friends Jenny (Michelle Beaudoin), Valerie (Lindsay Sloane), her boyfriend Harvey (Nate Richert), and her suspicious principal Willard Kraft (Martin Mull).
Photo: livingly.com
Sabrina has an annoying cousin but rather than Hart playing both roles like in Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie, her sister Emily portrays cousin Amanda.
There was no live studio audience because of the complex visual effects that were necessary for the filming.
Season one is Sabrina dealing with the fact that she is a witch and that she needs to learn how to deal with her special powers. In season two, she learns she needs to earn her witch’s license or give up her powers. She has to attend witch boot camp before her test.
For season three, she learns before she can use her license, she must discover her family secret. Different family members provide her with clues throughout the year, and eventually, she learns every family member is born with a twin. Harvey learns during season four that Sabrina is a witch. Their relationship is on and off again but he leaves the show at the end of the year.
Photo: etcanada.com
For season five, Sabrina begins college and moves into a house with other students. She goes to work at a local coffee shop. Her aunts want to stay close to her so Hilda buys the coffee shop and Zelda becomes a professor at the school. Sabrina gets a new boyfriend Josh.
Josh is offered a job abroad and while he is trying to decide, Harvey reenters Sabrina’s life because he is dating her roommate Morgan. Eventually, Josh and Harvey both move away. At the beginning of the last season, Sabrina and her roommates Morgan and Roxie move into her aunt’s house and Sabrina becomes a writer for a magazine. She meets a new guy, Aaron, to whom she eventually becomes engaged. However, in the series finale, Harvey returns on her wedding day and Sabrina leaves with him.
Photo: yahoo.com
The series was well known for its music and musical guests. During the run of the show, Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, N*Sync, Coolio, The Backstreet Boys, Paula Abdul, the Violent Femmes, 10000 Maniacs, and Usher all make appearances.
One of my favorite moments comes during an episode in season 2, “Dante’s Inferno.” In this episode, Aunt Hilda has an illness called pun-itis where everything she says becomes literally true. She says there’s a monkey on her shoulder and voila, it is. However, it’s no ordinary monkey. It’s Monkee member Davey Jones wrapped around her shoulder.
Photo: insider.com
This show was genuinely funny. Sabrina was youthful and optimistic and fun. Her aunts truly loved her and brought a warmth and a kindness to the show. Salem’s dry sense of humor and sarcasm make him a delightful pet. They were a delightful family to spend time with.
We are in the midst of our Teen Scene blog series this month. Today we learn about a true teen genius, Doogie Howser, MD.
Photo: sitcomanddramas.weebly.com
This half-hour sitcom was created for the fall of 1989 by Steven Bochco who created Hill Street Blues and LA Law and would go on to develop NYPD Blue. He asked David E. Kelley for help writing the pilot. Kelley, who also wrote for Hill Street Blues, would go on to write for Picket Fences, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Public, and Boston Legal. Bochco and Co felt Neil Patrick Harris was the perfect kid to play a teenage doctor. ABC did not like the casting and was not fond of the show in general or the pilot. However, Bochco’s contract required that if the network canceled his project, they had to pay a penalty. They ended up putting the show on the air because test screenings ranked so well. The show ended up being on the air for four seasons, creating 97 episodes. It was one of the first sitcoms not to have a live audience or a laugh track.
While Doogie had to deal with professional medical problems at work, in his personal career, he was still a teenager dealing with the same issues all teenagers do. His best friend Vinnie (Max Casella) had been in his life since kindergarten. Vinnie wanted to pursue film school, but his dad wanted him to join the family business. Doogie’s family business was medicine; his dad, Dr. David Howser (James B. Sikking) had a family practice, and his mother Katherine (Belinda Montgomery) became a patient advocate at the hospital.
Sikking, Harris, and Montgomery Photo: showbizjunkies.com
Doogie and Vinnie dated best friends. Wanda (Lisa Dean Ryan) was Doogie’s girlfriend but before the end of the show, she left to attend the Art Institute of Chicago and they broke up. Vinnie’s girlfriend Janine (Lucy Boyer) drops out of college to become a department store buyer.
Doogie’s professional colleagues include Dr. Benjamin Canfield (Lawrence Pressman), head of the hospital and friend of Doogie’s father; Dr. Jack McGuire (Mitchell Anderson), a resident who eventually moves overseas to help third-world countries; Mary Margaret Spaulding (Kathryn Layng) a nurse who ironically dates McGuire, Canfield, and Doogie; and Raymond (Markus Redmond), an orderly who Doogie got hired after he left gang life. In seasons 2-4, Barry Livingston (Ernie from My Three Sons), plays Dr. Bob Rickett, a fellow doctor at the hospital.
Doogie Howser, M.D. (ABC-TV, 1989-93)
Shown (l. to r.): James B. Sikking (as Dr. David Howser), Belinda Montgomery (as Katherine Howser), Markus Redmond (as Raymond), Neil Patrick Harris (as Doogie Howser), Lawrence Pressman (as Dr. Canfield), Kathryn Layng (as Nurse Curly Spaulding), Max Casella (as Vinnie)
Doogie’s (Douglas) story is that he was a two-time survivor of early-stage pediatric leukemia which gave him a desire to become a doctor. He was labeled a genius in school and had an eidetic memory and earned a perfect SAT score at the age of six, graduating from high school in only nine weeks at which time he entered Princeton at age 10. By 14, he had finished medical school and was beginning his career. A couple of sources I read said Bochco based the character of Doogie somewhat on his own father who was a violin prodigy.
Harris, Cassella Photo: flickr.com
We meet him at 16 when he is a second-year resident surgeon at Eastman Medical Center in LA. He lives at home with his parents, and he keeps a digital diary which he typically ends the show with, writing as he makes observations about what he has learned during the episode.
The show dealt with some heavier topics including AIDS awareness, racism, homophobia, and gang violence, but most of the shows also involve Doogie’s personal life and his social issues being a teen in an adult world. By the time the show ends, Doogie has moved into his own apartment. Howser then resigns from the hospital to take a trip to Europe. If the show had come back for a fifth season, the creators planned to have Doogie explore a writing career.
While audiences responded enthusiastically to the show, critics were not on board. Marvin Kitman of Newsday rated the first season 40/100 and said sarcastically, “What a wasted childhood my kids have had, I got to thinking while watching this otherwise normal Doogie Howser. It makes you look at your kids differently. What lazy bums they must be still in high school at 16.” Christopher Smith of the Bangor Daily News gave it a C and said, “No classic, this series.”
Harris, Dean Ryan Photo: sitcomsonline.com
However, fans continued to tune in, and a review by c l lance on imdb.com, in 2005, said “Doogie Houser [Howser], MD. Just the name brings a smile of remembrance to me. In the tradition of such television classics as L.A. LAW, NYPD Blue and Hill Street Blues, Doogie Houser, MD was wonderfully funny with a touch of life. As a 30-something adult when I first watched Doogie in late-night reruns, I was hooked by its humor and wit while watching this “kid” with an adult mind, yet the hormones and maturity of a teenager, grow into independence. Memorable episodes include his first day, the late-night skinny dip (as mentioned by another viewer), the practical joke he played on other hospital staff only to have it ruthlessly reciprocated, and the apartment with his best friend Vinny. There is some risqué humor but it is nothing when compared to today’s standards. I always enjoyed seeing the relationship he had with his dad and mom. I had the entire series recorded but sacrificed them for NFL games. BIG mistake!! Doogie Houser, MD will long be cherished by this now 40 something dad and his now 20 something daughters. I look forward to seeing Doogie’s journal again.”
A lot of us knew Harris better from his role of Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother. During one episode, “The Bracket,” Barney writes in his computerized diary while the theme song for Doogie Howser plays in the background.
UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 19: DOOGIE HOWSER, M.D. – Season One – Pilot – 9/19/89, Neil Patrick Harris played 16-year-old child prodigy Douglas “Doogie” Howser, a second-year resident at Eastman Medical Center who zipped through high school in two months, graduated from Princeton at 10, and medical school at 14. At the end of each episode, Doogie entered his experiences in his electronic diary, on his computer. , (Photo by Walt Disney Television via Getty Images Photo Archives/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)
On September 19, 2019, USA Today did an interview with Harris on the 30th anniversary of the show and mentioned that upon the death of Steven Bochco, Harris reflected about his time on the show: “I look back on that with fondness. That was a very remarkably wonderful chapter for somebody who had never really been in the entertainment business before.” Doogie might have missed his chance to become an author, but Harris has written a series of kids’ books, The Magic Misfits, as well as an autobiography.
I do remember watching the show during prime time. If I was home, I watched it but it was not a must-see show for me. It was an interesting concept though and seemed realistic enough given the few people who would experience this type of life. I think the bigger issue for me was that the first three years it was on against Night Court, so I probably watched more of the fourth season when it was sandwiched between The Wonder Years and Home Improvement.
Beginning in September of 1965, Gidget went on the air and was one of the first color programs on ABC. The show was adapted from a novel Gidget, the Little Girl with Big Ideas by Frederick Kohner, published in 1957. It became a movie in 1959 starring Sandra Dee. Kohner then served as a script consultant for the television show. The book, movie, and tv show each differ somewhat from each other.
The television show features Gidget Lawrence (Sally Field), a typical, boy-crazy 15-year-old teen who lives with her widowed father Russell (Don Porter), a UCLA professor. Gidget’s older sister Anne (Betty Conner) is married to John Cooper (Peter Duel), a fun-loving psychology student. Anne often tries to mother Gidget while John tries to understand her psychologically. Gidget’s best friend Larue (Lynette Winter) is also part of the cast.
Gidget narrates each episode and directly addresses the audience somewhat like Modern Family. Field said she got to pick out her hairdos and clothing style. Her nickname (her real name is Frances) apparently was given her by her boyfriend, Jeff Matthews who goes by Moondoggie because she is petite and comes from combing “girl midget.” Jeff is going to school at Princeton by the time the show began but Gidget still wears his ring around her neck even though she is dating other boys including a young Martin Milner as Kahuna and a young Daniel J. Travanti as Tom.
Winter and Field Photo: pinterest.com
Seventy-five girls tried out for the role of Gidget. The plots were very similar to a lot of shows in the sixties and seventies: The kids’ favorite hangout, The Shaggy Dog, is in danger of being closed to build a new museum. Gidget and her dad find themselves on opposite sides of an issue; Gidget gets a job driving a floral delivery truck. There’s just one problem—she doesn’t have a driver’s license; and Gidget falls for surfer legend Kahuna and even convinces her father to invite him over. She soon finds out that Kahuna is, when not on the beach, not that interesting.
The series was filmed at the Columbia/Warner Bros. Ranch in Burbank, CA. As with most of the homes at that lot, you will notice that the Lawrence kitchen is the same one Hazel works in and the house next door is the Stephens house from Bewitched.
The theme song is a familiar one to people growing up in the sixties. It was called “Wait Till You See My Gidget” and was written by Howard Greenfield with music composed by Jack Keller. The Four Freshmen sang it in the pilot, but Johnny Tillotson did the vocals for season one.
Photo: pinterest.com
Gidget faced some tough competition. ABC put it on the schedule Wednesday nights against The Beverly Hillbillies which was a top ten show and The Virginian, a top thirty show. Halfway through the year, the network moved it to Thursdays but it faced Gilligan’s Island which was very popular at the time. ABC canceled the show. When it put it on as a rerun for summer, the ratings increased significantly, but by that time it was too late to bring it back for fall.
The show can be seen on several networks. Antenna TV sometimes airs it for special days. It’s also available on DVD.
Photo: nostalgiacentral.com
It sounds like the cast became fairly close during their year together. When the DVD was released, Field did an interview in which she stated that Don Porter and she had a father/daughter relationship off-screen too. Because she was new to the business, he often mentored her and helped her avoid embarrassing moments. In an interview reflecting on her time on the show, Sally said that she always loved working with Lynette Winter and looked forward to their time on the show together. Field also became friends in real life with Winter.
I do remember watching this show in reruns and I always liked it, but I think it was definitely a product of its time and probably spoke more to people who were teens in the early sixties. If nothing else, we can be thankful for this show because it launched the amazing career of Sally Field.
This month’s blog series is all about the Teen Scene. We are going to start and end the series with Melissa Joan Hart.
Cast of Clarissa Explains It All Photo: eonline.com
Those of you who grew up in the 1990s or, as in my case, had kids growing up in the 1990s, will remember Clarissa Explains It All. My son Shawn loved this show, and I began watching it with him and actually looked forward to tuning in.
Mitchell Kriegman created this show for the Nickelodeon network. From March of 1991 through October of 1994, 65 episodes were produced. As a personal aside, Kriegman also created Bear in the Big Blue House. With kids growing up in the nineties and 2000s, can I say Clarissa Explains It All, Bear in the Big Blue House, and Arthur were a breath of fresh air compared to most of the kids’ programs on television at that time.
Clarissa Darling (Hart) is a teenager who lives with her brother, Ferguson (Jason Zimbler), whom she finds extremely annoying, and her parents, Janet (Elizabeth Hess) and Marshall (Joe O’Connor), whom she likes a lot. She also has a best friend Sam (Sean O’Neal) who happens to be a boy. Clarissa also has a pet alligator named Elvis.
Photo: variety.com
Like George Burns in his 1950s show, Clarissa often addresses the audience directly. The plots had to do with things all teens are sweating out like first crushes, training bras, getting a driver’s license, cheating at school, etc. Another unusual feature of the show was Clarissa explaining the theme by using a fictional video game or a news segment. Clarissa has pretty liberal parents, so sometimes she has to do her own punishments or life lessons. For example, in one show she mistakenly takes a piece of lingerie from a store. Her parents don’t punish her because it was an accident, so she spends the episode trying to fix the situation.
Clarissa’s character makes the show. Although she is a teenager, she is witty, sarcastic, realistic, and a lot of fun to be around. Kriegman says the role of Clarissa was between two actresses, Melissa and another girl. He thought the other girl really seemed to be “Clarissa,” but he said Hart “was so charming and she just lit up the screen. Because she did that, I could load her up—make her really quirky and different. She could make it play.”
Photo: pinterest.com
Clarissa also has a creative fashion look. Her unique style was created by Lisa Lederer who came from the magazine industry. Lederer didn’t want Clarissa to look like a tomboy or a weird girl: she wanted her to be able to express herself. She said, “It felt like what we were doing was creating this girl in a more real way, to represent the way that girls—that people—normally dress.” Her clothes were all about expression. She did influence people. Girls’ clothing at the time was pretty matchy-matchy, but an ABC executive told Kriegman that his daughter came downstairs in mismatched items and leggings. He asked her what that was all about and she said “I’m dressing like Clarissa.”
Photo: consequence.com
Her brother Ferguson is a mischievous guy who is always trying to spy on her. He loves money and is often trying to come up with schemes to get some. Like Alex on FamilyTies, he considers himself a loyal Republican. The show emphasized that sibling rivalry was just part of the family’s life, nothing to make a moral of. Kriegman said writers got extra points if they came up with a good sibling rivalry story.
Sam is very bright and loves skateboarding. His parents are divorced. He lives with his dad, a sports journalist because his mother “ran away” to the Roller Derby. Sam is often seen climbing a ladder to her room introduced by the same guitar chord. Kriegman explained that this was a way to get him into the house to interact with her quicker and there was never any connotation that they were in a relationship.
That bedroom set was the most complex one on the show. On the wall there is a They Might Be Giants poster. In Kriegman’s stylebook for the show, he said there was a science experiment in one corner regarding watering plants with club soda, Perrier, and Evian. There was also a dollhouse made by Marshall for Clarissa, as well as a collection of hats, and hubcaps. Kriegman said that he had a specific idea for the look of the room. The designer wanted it to be a girly room and insisted on painting it pink. So, after it was painted, Kriegman informed the designer that now they were using black car paint to paint checkers all over the wall.
Sam and his ladder Photo: imdb.com
As a funny aside, Kriegman made a rule that no purple could be used on the set. No, he was not anti-Minnesota Vikings. The explanation was odder than that. He said he didn’t mind purple, but he had advice from someone in the business who told him to make an executive rule and stick to it, so that was his executive rule. He said it became a bit of a challenge for set and clothing designers to sneak in purple when they could.
Clarissa’s mom is often sought out by Clarissa for life advice. She works at a children’s museum and is an environmentalist and a proponent of vegan and organic food. Her meals were often mentioned in the episodes. Her dad was an architect who often designs very unusual buildings with creative shapes, often tourist attractions. Like the Keatons on Family Ties, Marshall and Janet were hippies in their earlier life. He typically refers to Clarissa as “Sport” and his advice is not as sage as his wife’s.
Part of the fun that surrounds the show came from Kriegman’s background. He was a short story writer and had worked on a variety of shows including Sesame Street and Saturday Night Live. He wanted the audience to be able to get into a 13-year-old’s mind to understand the events she was experiencing. One of the writers on the show was Suzanne Collins who went on to write The Hunger Games. Some other writers include Michael Borkow who wrote for Roseanne, Malcolm in the Middle; and Friends, Becky Hartman Edwards who wrote for The Larry Sanders Show; Glen Eichler who wrote for the Colbert Report; Peter Gaffney who wrote for The Simpsons; and Alexa Junge who wrote for Friends and The West Wing.
Photo: sitcomsonline.com
Rachel Sweet sang the theme song which was a melody singing “na na na na na na” with snippets of “Way cool” or “Just do it,” or “All right! All right!” Perhaps she was a fan of Matthew McConaughey. Kriegman said Sweet was a friend of his and he did not give her any direction for the song.
The show was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1994 for Outstanding Children’s Program. It was beat out by Kids Killing Kids/Kids Saving Kids. Avonlea was also nominated that year, and I would emphasize that neither Clarissa or Avonlea was really a children’s program; it was great viewing for everyone. Also, Hart, O’Neal, and Zimbler all received Young Artist Award nominations; Hart won three Young Artist Awards during the run of the show.
The show continued to have great ratings, but the network canceled the show because they felt Clarissa was getting too old. The cast didn’t have any warning that things were coming to an end. They spent about 70 hours on each episode, so they spent a lot of time together and were very close. Some of the crew helped Melissa with her school projects, and the cast threw a high school graduation party for her. Kriegman said that “adults and kids got together Friday nights after the show was done and had the best party. Everybody was so happy to be with each other.”
Photo: cosmopolitan.com
I have great memories watching this show with my kids and repeating one-liners from the show. It had realistic but humorous plots, fun and memorable characters, and interesting dialogue. It appealed to both kids and adults and to boys and girls. Kriegman said that “The idea that you do something 20 years ago, and everybody still remembers it–not just remembers it fondly, but passionately, and cares about it—I just love it. It’s the most satisfying thing in my career.”
The show was refreshing and witty. Clarissa once said, “Maturity is a boring state of mind.” If that’s true, no cast members or television viewers were very mature during an episode of Clarissa Explains It All.
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