thirtysomething: love it or hate it?

August 12, 2019 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

Continuing our Rewind 1980s, today we delve into the show that was thirtysomething. If you want to start a heated debate, just ask a group of people what they thought about the show. Everyone has a definite opinion, and the answers vary greatly. This is Us and A Million Little Things remind me a lot of thirtysomething. They are shows I look forward to every week. Not surprisingly, Ken Olin who played Michael on thirtysomething is the executive producer of This is Us; he also has directed many of the episodes, and Timothy Busfield who played Elliot Weston on the show has also been a director on This is Us.

Photo: npr.com
Gary, Melissa, Ellyn, Michael with Janie, Hope,
Nancy with Ethan, Elliot with Brittany

I loved the show when it was first on the air. The first couple episodes I watched on DVD had a few moments that seemed a bit too introspective and overthought, but as the series progressed, I remembered why I loved the show so much. Choosing between a show where characters might overthink occasionally versus some of the mindless shows currently on television, I’ll take the first option every time.

Photo: hollywoodreporter.com
A typical thirtysomething scene

Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz, who both worked on Family, created this show for United Artists Television. It was on ABC for four seasons from 1987-1991. A group of baby boomers, made up of single friends and married couples living in Philadelphia, experience life after college. Originally the show was called “Thirty Something,” but it was changed to thirtysomething before it aired. The word “thirtysomething” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary after this series became so popular.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the memorable music from the show. W.G. Snuffy Walden and Stewart Levin were the composers for the theme song and much of the music that was heard in the background. A CD was released in 1991, titled “The Soundtrack From thirtysomething”. I have that CD and still listen to it from time to time. Walden would go on to compose music for many series including The Wonder Years, The West Wing, and Nashville.

The series was extremely popular with young adults. It won 13 Emmy Awards and was nominated for 41. It also won two Golden Globes.

Although this was an ensemble cast similar to Friends, the main characters were Hope (Mel Harris) and Michael (Olin) Steadman. Michael runs an advertising company with Elliot (Busfield).

He and his wife Nancy (Patricia Wettig) are good friends of Hope and Michael. (In real life Wettig and Olin are married.) Michael’s best friend is professor, Gary Shepherd (Peter Horton), and Hope’s best friend is Ellyn Warren, (Polly Draper) who works for the city. Michael’s cousin Melissa (Melanie Mayron) is also part of the inner circle.

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Ellyn and Gary pretend to be dating as a prank on Hope and Michael

She dated Gary in the past and there is always a “will they or won’t they get back together” vibe between them.

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Michael and cousin and friend Melissa

Michael and Hope have a baby when the show begins, and the Westons have two young children, Ethan and Brittany. The children are all central characters in the show.

Intelligent scripts and realistic plots make the show a classic. As the show evolves, Michael and Elliot have to give up their company and go to work for someone else, Gary and his girlfriend Susannah (Patricia Kalember) get pregnant which leads to their marriage, Ellyn and Melissa have various serious relationships before they find their soulmates, Nancy pursues her dream of being a children’s author and illustrator, the Westons separate, and Hope is constantly weighing the advantages of being a stay-at-home mom versus returning to her writing career. Melissa’s career as a photographer skyrockets including work for Vanity Fair and a Carly Simon album cover. In addition, there is the unexpected storyline when Nancy battles ovarian cancer. She is told she is in remission and her friends throw a party at her hospital room, when Michael gets the call that Gary has been killed in a car accident on the way to see them.

Photo: whosdatedwho.comS
Susannah and Gary get married

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Michael and Elliot

In an article on hollywoodreporter.com in 2017, Craig Tomashoff interviewed Herskovitz about the creation of the show and the casting.

Photo:scottryanproductions.com
Nancy helping Gary with teaching children’s literature

Herskovitz explained after quickly putting the script together, based in part on the concept of the movie The Big Chill, they had to find their ensemble cast. He said each character was a totally different experience. When Busfield walked in the room, they said he was cast before he even read a line. Marshall and Olin were already friends, so they cast Ken as Michael and then hired his wife but explained she was going to be married to another character. She only had one line in the pilot so she was a bit worried about the character, but they promised her that her character would be developed more fully. Horton was also a friend of Herskovitz’s. They lived in the same neighborhood and their wives were also friends. He wanted to be a director, not an actor. But when he read the script, he thought it was the best pilot he had ever seen, so he came on board. Mayron and Draper were both brought in for auditions. Mel Harris auditioned for Zwick and Herskovitz but then heard nothing. She had only been acting for about a year or so at that time. She finally got the call that she was hired.

The group worked very well together. The show focused on friendship and feelings. As Mayron once described it, rather than the big things in life, the show was “about the minutiae of life, not the disease or crime of the week.”

Photo: coreyparkeractor.com
Melissa and her soulmate

This was seen in the marital relationships as well. Although there were a few big things that came between Hope and Michael, most of their arguments were smaller, petty things that most couples argue about from time to time. Hope wanted help with cleaning the house; Michael felt the laundry wasn’t done often enough. We didn’t see anything romanticized–the house needed repairs and trying to get a babysitter was a frustration. However, we did see things that were romantic. In the middle of a conversation about their daughter, when it was quiet, Michael and Hope would have a loving moment.

Busfield said the actors chose to focus on each other and insulate themselves a bit. Horton said “Ken, Tim and I became almost like brothers. We meshed in each other’s lives, never feeling competitive with each other. Tim was the most practical of all of us.” Because the cast was so close and they shared their lives with one another, Zwick admitted, that “we mercilessly robbed the cast of their life experiences.” Occasionally, someone in one of the actor’s past would not be happy seeing a story from their life on the screen.

Busfield said the cast realized how important their characters were to the viewers and how much they related to them, sometimes in negative ways. Once in a grocery store, a woman came up and slapped him across the face because of the way he treated Nancy. She apologized when he reminded her that was not him but his character. Wettig said a woman asked her where she did her chemotherapy and then shared with her that she had just been diagnosed with cancer and had to find a treatment facility. Mayron started wearing her suspenders backward for Melissa just as a unique fashion. One day when she was out and about, she saw a lot of girls doing the same and they told her they were copying her. Horton’s story was that he had been a dedicated fan of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. One day at an event he had a tap on his shoulder and when he turned around, he saw David Crosby who shared that he was a huge fan of Horton and thirtysomething.

Photo: ew.com
Susannah coping with Gary’s death

The show mirrored real life for viewers. Many people were dealing with internal struggles and thought that they were the only ones who experienced such thoughts. There was a comfort in the realization that other people had the same feelings. Viewers had an intimate relationship with the cast.

Most of the characters wanted to do something big with their lives and careers. They are now at the turning point where that may come true or they might have to re-adjust their perspective of what’s important. The married friends are jealous of their single friends at times and the single friends return the favor. Nothing is black or white.

If you think of life as a mosaic masterpiece, you realize each episode of the show looked at one tile piece in-depth. It can be exhausting and feel overwhelming to do that, but once you do, you develop an appreciation and understanding of the artwork as a whole that you would not achieve just looking at it as one thing.

THIRTYSOMETHING, (L-R), Peter Horton, Rachel Nagler, Patricia Wettig, Mel Harris, Timothy Busfield, Jason Nagler, Polly Draper, Ken Olin, Melanie Mayron, Season 1, 1987. (c) MGM Television/ Courtesy: Everett Collection.

When the show came out, critics were divided. Some loved it; some hated it. Gene Seymour from the Daily News, wrote that is would “bring you down” and “make you uncomfortable.” However, he also said the show “deserves your attention.”

When the series was cancelled four years later, things hadn’t changed that much. An ABC spokesman said the show was cancelled partly for ratings decline and partly because Zwick and Herskovitz wanted to make feature films. At that time, Francesca Chapman, also of the Daily News, wrote that the series “has told us stories we already know and made it fascinating” and that “they were all the more gripping because a good story, told realistically and in detail, a story that doesn’t necessarily have a punch line or a happy ending, is an unusual thing on TV. After tonight, it will be all the rarer.”

The cast was featured on a reunion episode in 2009 on Good Morning America. When the show turned 30 in 2017, it propelled a lot of articles about the cast and the significance of the show. The show had not been forgotten.

When thirtysomething started in 1987, it provoked a lot of disagreement about the show. When it went off the air four years later, the debate had still not been settled. Now thirty-two years later, there is still not a definitive answer. You love it or you hate it. While I admit, when I began re-watching the episodes from the first year, I was surprised that I saw too much whining which was a big criticism of the show originally. But once the season got underway, the whining was replaced with in-depth discussions about life and friendship. I loved it, and I’m grateful to the show for creating a place on television today that can feature a show like This Is Us. Just when you think you’re going to give up on television and just read, a show like that comes along and brings you hope that it’s not all a wasteland and that there is treasure to be found if you take time to look for it.

Did You Know Shirley Partridge, Samantha Stephens, Jeannie, Donna Reed, and Hazel Lived in the Same Neighborhood?

July 22, 2019 / thewritelife61 / 14 Comments

As we proceed with our Behind the Scenes series this month, today we are thinking about set designers. Before the interior designs are done, the production team needs to find the perfect home for our television friends.

Did you ever daydream about places you might want to live in, even if you never would actually consider leaving your home? Perhaps it’s a small rose-covered cottage in the English countryside, maybe a ski chalet in the Swiss alps, or a house on the Maine coast with green shutters and a widow’s walk. I’ve thought about all of these places, but now I have another one to consider. It’s an historic neighborhood where some of my favorite television friends lived. Today we learn a bit about the Columbia Ranch.

Now called Warner Brothers Ranch, the former Columbia Ranch was in Burbank, CA. In addition to dozens of television shows, it was the setting for many movies as well such as Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, High Noon, and Lost Horizon. The neighborhood interiors were typically shot at other studio locations.

In 1934, Harry Cohn, head of Columbia Pictures, purchased 40 acres in Burbank. In 1948, Columbia got into the television business under Screen Gems.

During the 1950s, Captain Midnight, Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show, and Dennis the Menace were filmed here. By the 1960s, the ranch was used continuously for television and movies. The set was about six blocks but looked much larger on camera shots. Shows during the 1960s included My Sister Eileen, Hazel, Our Man Higgins, The Farmer’s Daughter, Bewitched, Gidget, I Dream of Jeannie, The Monkees, and The Flying Nun.

In 1970, a fire destroyed a quarter of the neighborhood, including many buildings on Blondie Street. After rebuilding, taping continued on the set. During the next three decades, shows included The Partridge Family, Bridget Loves Bernie, Apples Way, The Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and Life Goes On.

In 1971, Columbia and Warner Brothers combined their companies and merged into The Burbank Studios. The Ranch then was relegated to a back backlot.

When Columbia Pictures moved its production facilities to Culver City in 1990, Warner Brothers gained ownership of the Ranch.

It’s continued to be a busy spot for filming. The fountain in the park was the one shown in the opening credits in Friends.

Nearby is also a swimming pool used on a variety of shows, including The Partridge Family.

The most famous street in the Ranch was Blondie Street. Blondie Street was named for Blondie Bumstead because the Blondie movies of the 1940s were filmed here. Walking down Blondie Street reveals homes that we were all familiar with growing up in the sixties and seventies.

It’s a curved residential street with twelve different houses, surrounding a large, central park. There is also a brick church and paved sidewalks. Three of the buildings—the Lindsay House, the Little Egbert House, and the Oliver House—were original to the 1935 set production.

The Blondie House

This set, constructed in 1941, was the home for Major Nelson on I Dream of Jeannie, Mr. Wilson on Dennis the Menace, and the Andersons on Father Knows Best, in addition to the Blondie movies. Later it housed the operations office for the Warner Ranch. Of course, Jeannie’s house was not here, it was a Jim Beam decanter that was sold during Christmas of 1964.

The Corner Church

When thePartridge Family drives off for a show in their bus, you can often spot the church which is just down the road from their home, across from The Stephens’ home on Bewitched. It was moved here in 1953. When any of the series needed a church, this was the one. It can be seen on an episode of Hazel when the family attends church.

The Deeds Home

Originally built for Frank Capra’s movie, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town in 1936, the house is only seen briefly in the movie. The Three Stooges filmed there in the thirties and forties. In the sixties it was seen in Batman. Both Gidget and The Partridge Family used the house as the high school and Bewitched used it as a civic building. In 1989, the original house was demolished. In its place, The Chester House and the Griswold House were built. The Griswold House was built for National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

The Lindsay House

Constructed in 1936, this house was best known as the Baxter home on Hazel. It also served as the Lawrence home on Gidget.

The Higgins House

This structure was constructed for the show Our Man Higgins in 1962. It was later the home of Darrin and Samantha Stephens on Bewitched from 1964-1972. On I Dream of Jeannie, it was the home of Alfred and Amanda Bellows.

For Bewitched, the interior and backyard scenes were filmed on a sound stage. The stairs ended in a hallway, but the doors only led to small closets, not the master bedroom. A modular first floor served as a setting for all the rooms. The den doubled as the nursery. A fake wall was put up to hide the view to the kitchen. When the den was needed, brown paneling was put over the nursery walls and the window was covered with a wall near the fireplace.

If you look closely, you’ll notice the avocado and gold flowered sofa in the Stephens’ living room was the same one used by Alfred and Amanda Bellows in their living room. But the shows shared well. On one episode of Bewitched, Louise and Larry Tate are seen at their kitchen table, but the kitchen looks identical to Major Nelsons’s. Roger Healey’s bedroom eerily resembled Darrin and Samantha’s.

I guess I was too busy crying to notice that this house was also Brian Piccolo’s home in Brian’s Song.

The Partridge Family House

The house across the street from the Stephens’ house was home to Abner and Gladys Kravitz. During the filming of Dennis the Menace, it was Mrs. Elkins’ house. It was also the home of The Partridge Family. In 1989 it became the Thatcher home on Life Goes On.

The home was built in 1953, modeled after a Sears, Roebuck & Co. plan. The modest two-story home was a perfect fit for the Partridges with its white, picket fence. The interiors were filmed at the Ranch as well. Located next door to the Blondie House, there were shrubs between the homes that were featured several times on the Partridge Family. In an episode where Keith shoots a movie, Shirley is clipping the hedges and begins dancing for the film, not realizing her neighbor is watching her. We see the hedges again when Keith moves into the room above the garage next door and gets free rent in return for yard work.

Because they were filming the show when the infamous fire broke out, some of the structure had to be rebuilt for the remainder of the series. From season 1 to 2, Danny and Keith’s bedrooms switch back and forth a couple times, and I wonder if this is the reason.

The Oliver House

Constructed in 1935 for a movie, the Oliver house was moved to Blondie Street for the home of the Stone family in The Donna Reed Show. It was also the Mitchell home where Dennis resided with his parents.

The Little Egbert House

Technically, Little Egbert is not on Blondie Street but on its own, Little Egbert Street, basically an alley. Fortunately, the 1970 fire did not damage any of the original structure. The house was also used in Minding the Mint and as The Shaggy Dog, the hangout for Gidget and her friends.

For sentimental reasons, I would choose the Partridge Family home to live in. However, I would have to remodel the kitchen. I could live with the red breakfast table set. The avocado and gold flowered wall paper may have been very chic in its day, but even I am not that sentimental!

I’ll Have What They’re Having: Sitcom’s Favorite Coffee Spots

March 4, 2019December 30, 2023 / thewritelife61 / 3 Comments

Coffee is a hot commodity on television, just like it is in real life. I thought it would be fun to stop by a few of my favorite coffee shops and learn a bit more about them. Often there is more brewing in these spots than the beans. Plots are developed; love is found and lost; and many of the world’s, at least the sitcom’s world, problems are tackled. We’re taking a tour of my top five spots for enjoying a great cup of coffee and getting to know some of the locals.

Number 5: Island Diner on Rules of Engagement

The Island Diner ‘s façade is actually the Ritz Diner in New York City. Using photoshop, the sign was changed and the street sign on the corner switched from “E62 St.” to “W62 St.” The diner is almost another character on the show; it is featured in every single episode of the series.

“Mr. Fix It” Ñ Russell (David Spade, left) tells Jeff (Patrick Warburton, right) that he is interested by a woman he is text dating because she laughs at all his text messages, on the second season premiere of RULES OF ENGAGEMENT, Monday, Sept. 24 (9:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Michael Yarish/CBS ©2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
**Photo: CBS Broadcasting Inc.**

The entire gang might show up at the diner on any given evening: Jeff and Audrey (Patrick Warburton and Megyn Price) have been married for quite some time. Their friends Adam and Jennifer (Oliver Hudson and Bianca Kajilich) are newly engaged. Russell (David Spade) is their single friend, barely tolerated by Audrey and Jennifer since his mind never drifts far from his next female conquest. His assistant Timmy (Adhir Kalyan) eventually joins the group as well, usually because he’s catering to some whim of Russell’s. The group deals with love and life.

The cast may be sassy but Doreen (Diane Sellers), their usual waitress, is even sassier.

The biggest challenge at the Diner is Audrey trying to keep Jeff’s meals healthier than he would like.

Number 4: Monk’s Café on Seinfeld

Monk’s Café is also a real place in New York called Tom’s Restaurant, located at 112^th and Broadway. They changed the name to Monk, because Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David had a poster of the jazz great Thelonious Monk in their office and they used it for the name.

Like many of our characters’ favorite hang-out spots, the atmosphere is not what reels you in. Coordinating plaid walls and matching curtains, leather seats, and a mauve counter are not what you think of in a contemporary café. The interior shots of the restaurant were filmed in the sound stage.

Many nights you’ll find Jerry, George, Kramer, and Elaine (Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Michael Richards, and Julia Louis Dreyfus) catching up on life. Larry (Lawrence Mandley) is the cook and the owner during most of the seasons of the series. Ruthie Cohen (Ruth Cohen) is the cashier who probably knows more about these four than anyone else.

In the pilot, there was a smaller restaurant called Pete’s and the waitress was named Claire but that all changed with the first regular episode.

Number 3: Luke’s Diner on Gilmore Girls

The diner is the best place for a meal in Stars Hollow.

You’ll want to get there early because there are only about ten tables in the restaurant. Owned by Luke Danes (Scott Patterson), the service is not always consistent. In addition to Luke, you may order from his nephew Jess (Milo Ventimiglia). Luke also lives upstairs; he inherited the business from his father. It was previously a hardware store, and Luke’s apartment was the office. He has a strict “No cell phones” policy.

Lorelai and Rory (Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel) show up here on almost every episode. They often meet to discuss an awkward or uncomfortable topic. Luke supplies much of their coffee needs. Luckily, refills are always free.

After the show ended, Gilmore Girls coffee did not. Patterson started his own coffee brand, Scotty P’s Big Mug Coffee. He said he was obsessed with quality coffee. “It’s the thing I look forward to every morning and throughout the day and throughout the evening and throughout the middle of the night.”

For a while, there was a variety of Gilmore Girls coffee on Boca Java. Their choices included Sookie’s Gourmet Blend, Luke’s No Nonsense Special, Mrs. Kim Approved Dark Roast, Oy with the Snickerpoodles Already, Stars Hollow Autumn Festival, Stars Hollow Winter Festival, and Taylor Doose’s Town Meeting.

Number 2: Café Nervosa on Frasier

The inspiration for Café Nervosa is Elliott Bay Café, located in Pioneer Square’s Globe Building. Café Nervosa is supposed to be located at the corner of Third and Pike. The real business at that location is, of course, a Starbucks.

This quaint café was set in Seattle and the atmosphere had a Pacific Northwest vibe to it. You would be comfortable settling in with a good book.

Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) was often neurotic and a bit high strung but you can’t blame it on the coffee. Many of the cast members met here for lunch or coffee. It was located across the street from the radio station, KACL and we get to know the staff very well.

Eric (Dean Erickson) was the barista for season one. He was the front man for a garage band and dated Daphne (Jane Leeves) for a time. Another server was Rick (Todd Babcock) who had a fling with Roz (Peri Gilpin). Eventually he left for Paris and better espresso. Thad typically gets Niles’ (David Hyde Pierce) order wrong, causing much frustration. Kit (Jessica Cauffiel) is a blonde waitress who also dated Niles and took a spin class with Roz. James (James Oliver) was a bit of an unfriendly barista.

One episode, “My Coffee with Niles,” was set entirely within the café.

Number 1: Central Perk on Friends

Central Perk was not based on a real café, but it did have a real address. Two years after the show was done, Joey Campanero bought a building at 90 Bedford St. and turned it into a restaurant called The Little Owl. Later, he found out his restaurant is the same space Central Perk was supposed to be. Both businesses are neighborhood hangouts.

Originally, the friends were going to meet at a restaurant instead of a coffee shop. At the time the series started, people didn’t spend time sitting in cafes much. The network thought it would be better to meet at a restaurant. The show’s creators held out for the coffee place, and the network relented only if the beige sofa became orange. The creators not only wanted the café to be a set; it was really more of a character. The show was originally titled “Insomnia Café” and was about six friends who hang out in the coffee house. NBC changed the title to “Friends Like Us” which then became “Six of One” and Friends shortly before it aired.

Almost every episode of Friends began or ended with coffee. Monica (Courteney Cox) reconnects with Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) here before her wedding. For a time, both Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Rachel work at the coffee shop. Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) entertained there with her song, “Smelly Cat”.

Somehow the friends always managed to get a seat on the orange couch. The writers actually placed a “Reserved” sign on the table later which you can see if you look closely. The café looks like what you think the coffee place this group would hang out in would. In the episode, “The One with Rachel’s Sister,” we learn a muffin and espresso is $4.50, a coffee and scone is $4.25, a double latte is $2.75, and herbal tea is $1.25.

Gunther (James Michael Tyler) is a permanent member of the show, working at Central Perk and in love with Rachel. He never really becomes part of the group, but he is invited to some of their parties and get togethers. Tyler got the part because he was the only extra who knew how to use an espresso machine, and he does not get a speaking line until episode 33.

I would be happy grabbing a cup of coffee at any of these fine establishments. I admit I would be less likely to hang out at the Island Diner. You would most likely find me writing at Café Nervosa or over in the corner at Central Perk, but my favorite spot probably would be Luke’s. It would be fun just to watch life in Stars Hollow. Although these would all be fun spots, I’m happy to keep supporting my local neighborhood shops. If you’re ever in the area, I’ll give a shout out to 4:30 AM Coffee House in Chippewa Falls, WI; The Goat Coffee House in Eau Claire, WI; and SHIFT Cyclery & Coffee Bar in Eau Claire, WI. If I’m there when you stop by, I’ll treat you to a cup of coffee.

Just “Ellen”: The First Ellen DeGeneres Show

February 18, 2019 / thewritelife61 / 3 Comments

I remember watching Ellen when it first aired. I don’t recall many details, but I remember it being funny and the characters rang true to me. I recently watched the episode about bowling for another blog (see September 3, 2018), and it prompted me to take a closer look at the show.

Ellen DeGeneres was born in Metairie, Louisiana into a middle-class family. When she was sixteen, her parents divorced and later when her mother remarried, she moved to Atlanta, Texas with her new husband and children. Ellen started college but decided it wasn’t for her and made her living in various jobs before trying stand-up comedy. Only four years after graduating from high school, she was touring the nation with her comedy. In 1986 she would appear on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

From 1989-1990, Ellen starred as Margo Van Meter in Open House. Open House was about a real estate company. Ellen played the man-hungry secretary. In 1992 she gave sitcoms another try, portraying Nancy MacIntyre on Laurie Hill. This time the show was about the medical profession, and Ellen was a nurse with a great sense of humor.

Ellen appeared in a handful of shows and movies and then received her own show, Ellen, not to be confused with The Ellen Show which debuted in 2001 or The Ellen DeGeneres Show which aired in 2003 and is still going strong. Ellen ran on ABC from 1994-1998. The show was created at an interesting time in her career. Now a household name, Ellen had established herself as a respected comedian but was not the typical star who carried a self-named sitcom. Think of The Doris Day Show, The Jimmy Stewart Show, or The Joey Bishop Show, all well-established stars.

Ellen was created by Carol Black, Neal Marlens, and David S. Rosenthal. (Black and Marlens had created Growing Pains and The Wonder Years as well. Rosenthal would go on to produce many successful series.) Originally titled “These Friends of Mine”, the show is centered around Ellen Morgan, a bookstore employee and her friends and coworkers, whose lives become intertwined. Like Seinfeld, the show was primarily about Ellen’s relationship with her quirky friends and dealing with day-to-day life and issues. Ellen works at “Buy the Book” bookstore. She lives in an apartment with Adam (Arye Gross), a college friend. Adam just can’t find the right woman and gets dumped often.

Recurring characters throughout the series were Ellen’s parents, Harold (Steven Gilborn) and Lois (Alice Hirson). Her dad is a bit naïve. Her mom spends a lot of time interfering in Ellen’s life. At one point, they plan on getting divorced but later reconcile.

Ellen’s friend Holly (Holly Fulgar) is only seen in season one. She is very shy and introverted but would like to be an extrovert. Anita is another first-season friend who is not seen in subsequent years. Joe (David Anthony Higgins) is a sarcastic Canadian and the coffee barista at the bookstore café. He becomes closer to Ellen as the series continues. Audrey (Clea Lewis) began as Ellen’s neighbor and eventually becomes a coworker as well. Audrey has a high voice and is extremely perky and cheerful and she loves pink. She was born into a wealthy family but has put her money aside for a job at the bookstore.

During season two, Joely Fisher joined the cast as Ellen’s friend Paige. She works for a movie studio and is a little arrogant. Paige had previously dated Spence (Jeremy Pivens), Ellen’s cousin, and she leaves her fiancé at the altar to resume the relationship.

The show always did well in the ratings but because some of the characters were more appealing than others, most of the main cast was dropped for the third season.

The theme song from season three on was an altered version of “So-Called Friend” by a Scottish band, Texas. A running gag on the show centered around the altered lyrics which changed from time to time. The lyrics resulted in different opening sequences as Ellen searched for the perfect opening.

During season three, Adam moves out when his character takes a job in England. and Ellen lives alone. Eventually her cousin Spence moves in. Spence has been going to medical school but wrestles with a career decision, going to law school for a bit before returning to the medical profession.

During the fourth season, Ellen buys her first house. Paige is still having a hard time adjusting to Ellen’s being out of the closet but accepts it at the end of the fourth year. Another change during season four is the arrival of Ed who manages the bookstore. He often disagreed with Ellen on how to run the business.

Of course, you can’t discuss the show without talking about a 1997 episode, “The Puppy Episode” that made television history. DeGeneres revealed that she was gay in real life which the writers and producers decided to carry over into the sitcom, making Ellen Morgan the first openly gay sitcom character who was the star of a show. Other gay characters appeared on shows; e.g., Billy Crystal as Jodie was a gay character in Soap, but he wasn’t the star. Ellen’s therapist on the show was Oprah Winfrey. The revelation caused a lot of controversy and media exposure.

While the show made it easier for gay characters on television in the future, it didn’t help Ellen. Ellen DeGeneres not only was chastised by members of society who didn’t approve of gay characters, she also was criticized by the LGBT community as well. They were unhappy when she said she never wanted to be a role model for LGBT. “I was looked at as the new leader, and I didn’t want to be a leader and I didn’t want to be political . . . I just wanted to be free from a secret and that’s all I wanted.” She was portrayed as not gay enough for some groups and too gay by others, a no-win situation.

With so much controversy, I think the powers that be on the show could not make the announcement and then ignore it but to put too much emphasis on it detracted from the relationship all the characters were involved in. Most of the subsequent episodes focused too much on the gay issues, destroying the camaraderie of the group by focusing more on one character. Rather than shows being about the group or even Ellen, it was about being gay. Ratings declined and the show was cancelled, but it had an impact, making way for gay characters in the television community. Despite all the backlash the show received for featuring a gay character, Will and Grace debuted the same year Ellen was cancelled and became a huge hit.

Of course, Ellen DeGeneres would go on to become a superstar with an award-winning talk show and a producer extraordinaire of eclectic shows. She does games shows, she has a line of home goods and shoes on QVC, and she has hosted a design competition on HGTV. Like Oprah, she has the avenues open now to explore whatever types of shows capture her interest. I have not seen Ellen on syndication in years, but episodes exist on YouTube. The DVDs were released from 2004-2006.

It’s too bad the show could not return to its original premise. Like Friends, Seinfeld, Will and Grace, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, it had a cast of interesting personalities that had a special bond. Ellen DeGeneres received Golden Globe nominations for best comedy actress for the show three of its seasons. Joely Fisher received best supporting actress in 1998. Ellen also received the Emmy nomination for best comedy actress every year from 1994-1998. The show was also nominated for Emmys for directing, writing, and guest stars. It was a hilarious show, and it would have been amazing to see how long it could have lasted if it had not been forced off the air for non-creative reasons.

As I mentioned, I recently watched the bowling episode which brought out Ellen’s competitive streak. I remembered how funny the show was and what an amazing ensemble cast the show featured. I will definitely watch more episodes.

Catch This Phrase: Memorable Expressions From Our Favorite Shows

December 17, 2018December 17, 2018 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

We all have those family members who seem to find fun catch phrases which get repeated by friends. Then there are those relatives who say something that drives us crazy and overuse expressions. That is what we’re talking about today: catchphrases from our favorite television shows. I prepared a list of twenty phrases that caught on with viewers. What seems strange to me are expressions that come from a series or movie that were never actually said. For example, “Play it again Sam,” from Casablanca is a well-known phrase. However, that line was never said in the actual movie. You often hear someone say, “Beam me up Scotty,” but once again, it was never said in Star Trek. The closest line was only used once, and it was, “Beam us up, Mr. Scott.”

I’ll list these memorable phrases by shows alphabetically and tell you how often they were used: none, one, fun, or overdone. I also rate them: green light means I like it, yellow if it was getting close to being overkill, and red for those expressions that never should have been used at all. Here we go.

The A Team – Pity the fool

Mr. T often says this on commercials, public appearances,and as a guest on other shows, but he never said it on The A-Team. Mr. T explained how this phrase came about on the Conan show one night, “When you pity someone, you’re showing them mercy. I didn’t start this pity stuff, it was in the bible. You’ll find pity so many times in the Bible and fool so many times, so I put ‘em together. Pity the fool,” Mr. T said. He added, “Lotta guys in the Bible [were] asking for pity. And then a lot of them were saying, I did a foolish act. So, I put ‘em together.”

Not only has he trademarked the phrase, but he actually had a series developed around the phrase which was the title of the show. It aired in October of 2006 and was off the air by November 6, so I pity the fool who stuck money into it.

Rating: None, Green– I can’t really give it a light because it was never used but it was a good expression at the time.

Alf – I kill me

The Tanner family members weren’t often amused by Alf’s jokes. When no one responded or someone shook their head at him, he was often heard to say, “I kill me.”

The phrase was so popular, a poster and a t-shirt were sold featuring it.

Rating: Fun, Green – I also thought Alf was pretty funny, even when the Tanners were not as impressed.

Alice – Kiss my grits

While Flo was a warm-hearted person who would do anything to help a friend, or Mel, she didn’t take any sass from anyone. Whenever someone did something to irritate her, she responded, “Kiss my grits.”

Rating: Overdone, Yellow– Only Flo could get away with using the phrase so often, but it did become a bit too much.

The Andy Griffith Show – Nip it in the bud

Barney liked being on top of situations and being in charge.When something happened whether it was questionable behavior by Opie or a dangerous criminal activity being plotted, he was heard to say, “Just nip it, nip it in the bud.”

Rating: Fun, Green –Barney Fife was just a great character.

Big Bang Theory – Bazinga

Sheldon learned about sarcasm during season 2 of the show. Whenever he said something sarcastic or something that proved others wrong in a humorous way, he would utter, “Bazinga.” The first time he used it, it was not actually in the script, but he added it and it stuck.

Rating: Fun-ish, Green– I added the “ish” because it can be overdone some shows

The Brady Bunch – Marcia, Marcia, Marcia

Jan didn’t like being the middle child. While Cindy was the cute younger one and Marcia the pretty older one, Jan often felt left out. When she was upset Marcia was getting attention or doing something she wanted to do, she would pout, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.”

In the Season 3 episode, “Her Sister’s Shadow,” Jan said, “all I hear all day long at school is how great Marcia is at this or how wonderful Marcia did that. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” Jan did not say the phrase much, but viewers sure did.

Rating: One, Green – I think every middle child understood what Jan meant. Apparently, viewers loved it, because it is an iconic quote for being only said one time. Actually, I always thought Jan was the cool one.

Columbo – Just one more thing

When the bad guy thought he had gotten away with a crime, Columbo would often turn around and say, “Just one more thing,” and that “thing” was usually the evidence he needed to arrest someone.

Rating: Fun, Green – Even when we knew it was coming, it was fun to see how the villain of the week realizes he has been found out.

Diff’rent Strokes – What you talkin’ bout Willis?

Arnold was the “cute” kid in the Drummond family and often made others laugh. Whenever Willis said something Arnold didn’t want to do or thought should not happen, he would look at his brother and say, “What you talkin’ ‘bout Willis?”

Rating: Overdone, Red– Ok, I know I have a bias because this was one of those Norman Lear shows my readers know I don’t care for, but I do remember at the time, it was used a bit too often on the show. There is a fine line between defining a character and stereotyping a character.

Friends – How you doin’?

Joey was definitely the ladies’ man on Friends. He was always searching for his next social conquest. When he met a girl he wanted to get to know better, he often drawled, “How you doin?” It was a basic pick-up line, but he was so good looking, it almost always worked. While it became his catchphrase, it was not used for the first time until Season 4.

Rating: Fun, Yellow – It was a fun expression that is still used today but it was getting close to being overused.

Full House – Have mercy

Typically, it was Uncle Jesse who said, “Have mercy,” but occasionally another character would use it. He says Garry Marshall always told him he needed a catch phrase. He took on “Have mercy,” and it was probably one of the most-used phrases ever during the run of the show.

Rating: Fun, Green– I can still hear the exact tone of his voice whenever he used the line.

Get Smart – Missed it by that much

Maxwell Smart often messed up a spy mission, and 99 always saved the day. Often when the bad guys were put away and he was analyzing what had gone wrong, he would say, “Missed it by that much” which usually meant he was nowhere near to taking care of business.

Rating: Fun, Green– Everything on this show was fun and there were enough catch phrases that none of them took over.

Good Times – Dy-no-mite!

The Evans were a close-knit family who lived in the projects. JJ was an artist and the class clown. His favorite expression was “Dy-no-mite!”

He revived his catch phrase in several Panasonic commercials in the mid-1970s.

Rating: Overdone, Yellow– Sorry, it’s my Norman Lear bias again, but I feel like not only did JJ Evans overuse this phrase, but you heard it from viewers everywhere you went. I agree that imitation is the sincerest from of flattery, so it worked, and people liked it, but I thought it was overdone.

Happy Days – Sit on it

I think every cast member used the phrase “Sit on it” at one point or another. It was said when someone said something or insinuated something a character didn’t like.

Rating: Overdone, Yellow– This was a fun phrase when it started but it was overused and overused by everyone on the show.

Hawaii Five-O – Book ‘em Danno

The original Hawaii Five-O would end each arrest with Steve saying “Book ‘em Danno.” They did not resurrect the phrase for the current Hawaii Five-0. However, if you were watching the November 30th episode in 2018, you saw the conclusion of an older cold case homicide and a comic book created the ending to the mystery and in the book, McGarrett did say, “Book
’em Danno.”

Rating: Overdone, Green– It was over used although it did not occur on each episode, but I gave it green because it worked and fit the situation when it was used.

Hogan’s Heroes – I know nothing

Sargent Schultz began saying “I know nothing” when he didn’t want to answer questions Hogan asked him. He realized Hogan could always get him to talk by offering him food of some type. Later, the prisoners were not afraid of telling Schultz things they were doing or planning to foil the Nazis’ plans, and whenever he heard them talking about an upcoming mission, he also emphatically said, “I know nothing.”

Rating: Fun, Green– Schultz said it a lot but that was fitting for his character.

The Honeymooners – Bang, zoom, to the moon, Alice

This particular phrase is quoted a lot. Actually, Ralph Kramden had many similar expressions such as Bang, zoom” or “To the moon Alice,” but they all had similar wording and inferred that he was threatening her. The phrase would not go over well in a show today. However, Alice was never worried. She knew Ralph loved her and was all bark and no bite. Of course, one of the expressions he also used in a lot of shows was “Baby, you’re the greatest.”

Rating: One, Red – I only saw one episode that used the exact wording that has become a quote of the show. While I know it was innocent fun back then, I can’t say I was ever fond of the expression.

I Love Lucy – Lucy, you got some ‘splaining to do

Lucy always had some type of scheme in the works to get something she wanted. Often, it was something her husband had forbidden her to do. When he found out what she was up to, he often said, “Lucy, you got some ‘splaining to do” in his Cuban accent. Like Ralph Kramden, he rarely said this exact phrase; instead, he would tell her to “splain what happened” or “try to splain why you are here” or something along those lines. Viewers picked up on the exact wording that gets repeated still.

Rating: One, Green – Desi used similar words but not this exact phrase. However, when he used it, it was always an appropriate use because Lucy had done something that did need to be explained.

Laugh In – Sock it to me

Because so many people on the show say, “Sock it to me” started by Judy Carne, it has become a famous line. Of course, the celebrity who got the most attention saying it was Richard Nixon.

Rating: Fun, Yellow– It was still fun because it was used in different situations and with different celebrities but if the show had continued, it might have been overdone.

Photo: refelctionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com

Lost in Space – Danger Will Robinson

Even kids who never heard of Lost in Space, quote “Danger Will Robinson” when they want to warn someone about an issue. The funny thing is it was only said one time on the show, but like The Brady Bunch, viewers have made it their own and it is now part of our lexicon.

Rating: One, Green– Although it was only said once, viewers have made it into a well-loved expression.

Welcome Back Kotter – Up your nose with a rubber hose

This was probably one of the most unusual catch phrases. The Sweathogs gave the image that they would not put up with nonsense and they made the rules. One of Vinnie Barbarino’s favorite insults was “Up your nose with a rubber hose.”

Rating: Fun, Green– I was not a huge fan of Welcome Back Kotter, but the phrase fit Barbarino, and he had enough other expressions, it was not overused.

I hope you had fun looking back at some of the expressions we grew up with in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. It’s interesting to think about what current shows will produce catch phrases that kids will still be using in 2050.

A Cut Above the Rest: Television Hairstyle Awards

October 1, 2018October 1, 2018 / thewritelife61 / 3 Comments

Happy National Hair Day. I’m not sure why we need a National Hair Day, but it gives me a good reason to discuss hair styles on my blog.

Hair is pretty amazing. Black is the most common color, and red is the most rare color. About 90% of the hairs on your scalp are growing and 10% are resting. Each of these hairs has a lifespan of five years or so. And, if you decide to grow this hair out, it takes three years to reach your shoulders and seven to reach your waist.

Hairstyles are easy things to change compared to eye color, nose shape, or cheekbone structure. We also have a very personal feeling about our hair style. A bad hairstyle can make or break our day. Most of us can relate that if we think our hair looks sloppy, it can make us feel dowdy no matter how well dressed.

Hair, along with clothing styles, can easily date a look. Take a glance at the photos below. Most of us will be able to immediately recognize the time period they represent.

I thought it would be fun to give out some hair style awards to deserving tv celebrities. There are a ton of television stars who inspired us to change our looks. Before we get to the awards, I wanted to recognize some honorable mentions. These people are stars, but they are not necessarily television stars; however, they have all appeared regularly on television.

Honorable Mention 1: Tiny Tim. If you grew up in the 1960s, you probably remember Tiny Tim marrying Miss Vicki on the Tonight Show, playing his ukulele and singing “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.”

Honorable Mention 2: Dorothy Hamill. When Dorothy Hamill appeared in her new wedge haircut, it created a national sensation. I can’t tell you how many people rushed to their salon to mimic the look.

Honorable Mention 3: Fabio. Parents were appalled when their sons grew their hair long in the 1960s, but by the 1990s when Fabio came along, it was considered sexy.

Honorable Mention 4: Clay Matthews. After Fabio, long hair began showing up on sports stars. One of the athletes who commanded a lot of attention for his hair was our own Green Bay Packers’ Clay Matthews.

So, let’s get on with the awards.

Award 1: The Elegant But Fun Look – Carol Burnett. Carol always kept her red hair, and her style typically featured a shorter cut. I’m sure this worked well for her show, so she could easily don a wig to appear as different characters in skits. However, she always managed to look elegant no matter what type of pratfall she was taking to get a laugh.

Award 2: The Natural Look – Keri Russell. Keri inspired many copycats on her show, Felicity, with her curly locks.

Award 3: The Most Recognized Cartoon Hairstyle – Marge Simpson. Her look truly is unique. I don’t know of anyone else sporting a bright blue beehive hairdo.

Award 4: Best Bad Boy Haircut – John Travolta. During his time as a sweathog, John Travolta as Vinnie Barbarino looked exceptionally handsome . . . until he opened his mouth. Looks aren’t everything, but apparently, they are something, because he sold a lot of posters.

Award 5: Most Unique Hairdo Worn With Confidence – Katey Sagal. Ok, I admit, this one did not inspire a lot of look-a-likes, but Peg carried off her style with flair.

Award 6: Best Short Male Style – George Clooney. There is a reason that George Clooney was chosen Sexiest Man of the Year numerous times. His haircut helped in that choice.

Most Recognizable Female Star’s Hairstyle: Whoopi Goldberg. Whether her hair was long or short, whether she was appearing in a movie, a television series, a talk show, or a commercial, Whoopi was always recognized by her hairdo. She varied it a bit, but was pretty loyal to her look.

The Character Whose Hair Continued to Evolve with the Role: Marlo Thomas. As That Girl, Marlo changed her hair style each season. You can see just by looking at the two photos, she started life on her sitcom a little naïve and expectant of great things and ended the show more sophisticated and wiser. She still expected great things, but she now understood she had to work hard to get them.

The Television Character Whose Hair Was the Talk of the Water Cooler: Jennifer Aniston. Jen, as Rachel Green on Friends, had a lot of cute hairstyles, but the famous “Jennifer cut” in this photo was discussed ad nauseum and copied by thousands.

The Television Character Whose Hair Created the Biggest “Buzz”: Kaley Cuoco. When Penny in The Big Bang Theory cut her long hair, everyone had an opinion. Some loved it; some hated it.

The Television Cast With the Best Haircuts for Everyone: The Partridge Family. Yes, people loved Marcia Brady’s hair and lots of people wanted Laura Petrie’s style, but the entire Partridge family had a cool haircut.

The Star Who Had the Most Different Styles: Oprah Winfrey. During the decades her talk show was on the air, Oprah featured many different looks. Here are a few of them.

oprah winfrey hairstyles gallery Awesome Oprah Hair Styles Luxury Oprah Winfrey Hairstyles Hair is Our Crown

The Cast With the Most Beautiful Hair of All Time: Charlie’s Angels. While Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, and Cheryl Ladd all had beautiful hair, the addition of Farrah Fawcett to this cast, meant it is the runaway for best hair on any show. John Travolta may have sold a lot of posters, but his are not in the Smithsonian. Farrah had the best hair of anyone featured on television, no comparison.

I realize there were a lot of stars left out of this blog, but I only have so much room. Share your thoughts on your favorites who did not make the “cut.”

One thing I realized putting this topic together was the lack of style occurring on television currently. I could not really find a star whose haircut stood out the way a Rachel Green or Jill Munroe did. Most decades seem to have that look that parents abhorred and kids loved, but I don’t see that style in the 2010s. Everyone seems to have similar hair. I’m still trying to decide if that is good or bad, but it is fun to look back at television history to see what was popular at different times.

What’s Going On? Nothing. Then It Must Be Seinfeld.

August 13, 2018August 13, 2018 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

August 13 is International Left Handers Day. Looking at classic television shows, there are plenty of famous left handers to celebrate including Pierce Brosnan from Remington Steel, Lisa Kudrow from Friends, Sarah Jessica Parker from Square Pegs, Goldie Hawn from Laugh In, Bruce Willis from Moonlighting, Mary Kate Olsen from Full House, Drew Carey from The Drew Carey Show and Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Tim Allen from Home Improvement and Last Man Standing, and Ed O’Neill from Married . . . with Children and Modern Family.

Moonlighting TV Series starring Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis and Allyce Beasley – dvdbash.wordpress.com

Any of these actors would be worth writing a blog on, but today we are going to concentrate on a show that featured two left handers: Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander. Seinfeld celebrated the continuing misadventures of neurotic New York City stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld and his equally neurotic New York City friends.

This show, always defined as being about nothing, was on for nine years, producing 173 episodes. The show featured one of the most unique concepts for a sitcom. Like Burns and Allen, Jerry Seinfeld stars as himself, a comedian. He and three of his closest friends live in New York City and we get to listen in to their conversations, adventures, and boring daily chores. Each of the main characters has his or her own quirky traits.

Debuting in 1989, the show was created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. The characters were based on people they knew. Jerry’s best friend was George Costanza (Jason Alexander). His ex-girlfriend and now close friend Elaine Benes (Julia Louis Dreyfus) was often stopping by his apartment to discuss life. Cosmo Kramer (Michael Richards), known as “Kramer,” lived across the hall from Jerry.

Jerry is usually the calm in the storm in the group, handing out advice and being the voice of reason. He is a germaphobe and a neat freak. He always has a box or two of cereal on top of his refrigerator and we often see him eating it. He also loves the Mets. Jerry was an Abbot and Costello fan in real life and if you watch the show closely, you will see many references to the show and the actors.

George has been Jerry’s friend since high school. He has a lot of poor traits including being cheap, a liar, and often petty. He often uses an alias, Art Vandelay, as part of his elaborate lies. However, he is loyal to Jerry. Other actors considered for the role were Danny DeVito, Nathan Lane, David Alan Grier, Kevin Dunn, and Brad Hall.

Elaine is trying to find Mr. Right but has to date a lot of Mr. Wrongs to get there. She is sometimes to honest for her own good. She has several jobs during the course of the series. Dreyfus beat out Rosie O’Donnell, Patricia Heaton, Mariska Hargitay, Jessica Lundy, Amy Yasbeck, and Megan Mullally for the role.

Kramer is his wacky neighbor. He wears vintage clothes and is a bit naïve, but intelligent and caring. As Kramer (Michael Richards) became more popular, his entrance applause grew so prolonged, that the cast complained it was ruining the pacing of their scenes. Directors subsequently asked the audience not to applaud so much when Kramer entered.

Another recurring character on the show is Newman played by Wayne Knight. Newman lives in the same apartment building as Jerry. He’s a mailman. He bonds with Kramer but doesn’t like Jerry at all.

Many episodes are based on real life experiences of Seinfeld and David. Characters and plots from past shows are often referenced or expanded on. Like real life friends who have inside jokes, several themes reappear. Plots are often everyday activities. In one show, Jerry, George, and Elaine spend the episode waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant.

Like Friends, it truly was an ensemble cast. While the audience loved Kramer, each of the characters was equally important. In a May 14, 2018 Variety story, authored by Scott Huver, who was reflecting on the popularity of the show, Jason was discussing the last episode. His quote sums up how crucial they all were: “And he (Jerry) said this really beautiful thing. He said, ‘For the rest of our lives when anybody thinks of one of us, they will think of the four of us, and I can’t think of any people that I would rather have that be true of.’ And as we all began to weep over the fact that Jerry had said that, that’s when they started calling our names and we had to go out and pretend that everything’s just hunky dory.”

Unlike many other shows, Seinfeld was slow to gain a fan following. In season four, they finally it the top 30. However, the show ranked number one for its entire final year.

Jerry Seinfeld received five Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, but never won. The show was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series from 1992-1998 but only won the Emmy in 1993.

Jerry Seinfeld turned down an offer from NBC that would have made him one hundred ten million dollars for a tenth season of the show. There was talk this past year about a Seinfeld revival. After watching Will and Grace’s revival, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Rarely do revivals live up to their predecessor’s quality.

The finale was viewed by 76 million people. Many fans found the show offensive. The entire group of friends are taken to jail for violating the Good Samaritan law in Massachusetts. They watch an overweight man being robbed and instead of getting help, they mock him.

None of the friends did the right thing, but perhaps Seinfeld and Alexander can be excused since they were left-handed. Finales are tough especially for a much-beloved show and this one did not do the show justice. In my opinion, it deserved a more creative going away party.

I’m Feeling A Little Looney!

January 22, 2018 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

Today we get to explore one of my favorite animation sitcoms. If you wait long enough, everything comes back into style. In looking at new movies which will debut in the next few years, we have remakes coming of A Star is Born, Dirty Dancing, and Hitchcock’s classic The Birds. All-white kitchens that were popular in the 1950s have returned. One of the photos below is from the 1960s and one is from the past year. Can you tell which is which?

In my opinion, most of the reboots are lackluster and not nearly as good as the originals. Case in point is the Parent Trap. The original Disney version with Hayley Mills is much better than the remake with Lindsay Lohan. Sometimes a gem is created. Father of the Bride with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton is just as entertaining, if not better, than the original.

From 1930 through 1969, Warner Brothers produced tons of Looney Tunes cartoons – the golden age being 1944-1964. Many of us grew up with these cartoons and watched them in syndication with our kids. In 1996, many of these characters were featured in Space Jam, and a new generation of fans was created. In May of 2011, Warner Brothers again debuted Looney Tunes. Created by Spike Brandt and Tom Cervone, 52 episodes were produced in two seasons of shows that ran until August of 2014 on The Cartoon network. in reading the reviews of the shows and perusing blogs about the show, many people felt cheated by this new adaptation and considered it a betrayal of the Looney Tunes branding. I, on the other hand, loved them.

In 2011, the gang had grown up just as I had. Bugs Bunny lived in a wealthy, middle-class neighborhood. He made his fortune inventing a new carrot peeler; he even won a Nobel prize. The 30-minute sitcom included adult-oriented humor and dialogue-driven scripts, but it also appealed to kids. We had three different generations watching it at our house and everyone enjoyed it.

Bugs has a great sense of humor. He is extremely patient which is good because Daffy now lives with him. Their relationship is a cross between Felix and Oscar on The Odd Couple and George and Jerry on Seinfeld. Daffy tries a variety of get-rich quick schemes but none of them pan out. He can’t hold a job. He is either fired for incompetence, or he quits from laziness. He is constantly making trouble for Bugs with his friends and neighbors. Daffy is self-focused and rude to everyone. However, he truly wants to be a good friend and his heart sometimes gets in the way of his hare-brained schemes, no pun intended. Both characters are voiced by Jeff Bergman.

The rest of the Looney Tunes characters are also in the show. Porky (voiced by Bob Bergen) is highly intelligent and interested in culture. Daffy often tries to manipulate him. Porky quit his boring corporate job and opened his own catering service. He also serves on the city council. We see Porky writing and performing opera on episodes.

Speedy Gonzales (played by Fred Armisen) runs a pizza joint called Pizzarriba. The rest of the cast often dines there.

Several minor characters are Bugs’ neighbors. Yosemite Sam (Maurice LaMarche voices him) lives next door and causes no end of problems for Bugs who tolerates him almost as well as he does Daffy. Granny lives across the street with Tweety. Voiced by the amazing June Foray, Granny was an allied spy during World War II and now teaches piano. I’m not sure of all the details but apparently the show did not have permission to use the witch Hazel so Lezah who looks identical to her lives down the street (voiced by Roz Ryan).

Elmer Fudd shows up now and again as a local news reporter.

Lola, who appeared in Space Jam, is again Bug’s girlfriend. She is a bit scatter-brained and fast talking, but likable. (Kristen Wiig plays Lola.)

Daffy also has a long-suffering girlfriend, Tina. Tina is a female duck who works at The Copy Place. She’s very practical, and tries to get Daffy to grow up and become responsible. (Tina was voiced by Jennifer Esposito and Annie Mumolo.)

There is a bit of a Friends-like atmosphere about the show. The characters have character flaws, but they are all likable and fun loving. The plots feature adult problems and issues: dating, careers, fulfilling dreams, and mundane chores like going to the DMV.

There are three episodes that stand out for me as my favorites.

Newspaper Thief (2011) and Spread Those Wings and Fly (2013) are two shows that feature a lot of the humor that makes this show so much fun.

In Newspaper Thief, Daffy accuses the neighbors of stealing his newspaper. Bugs lectures him, and they plan a dinner party for Daffy to apologize. Instead of apologizing, he gets Porky to help him set up a trap to capture the thief. There are some great one-liners in the show.

In Spread Those Wings and Fly, Daffy and Porky go to hear a motivational speaker. Daffy is a skeptic and wants nothing to do with it. Of course, he is reeled in and buys books and motivational tapes. Porky understands the goal is to fly by pursuing your dreams, but Daffy takes it literally. He takes flying lessons, planning on becoming a pilot. He is terrible and wrecks the plane. He then becomes a stewardess, wearing high heels and is dressed like a female, even though Bugs explains guys can be flight attendants now. He quits when he realizes he literally flies back and forth to a city and doesn’t get any time to sight see. The ending of the show has everyone invited to Porky’s opera debut. Porky has pursued his dream of singing and performs for his friends. He is amazing, but Daffy totally misses the talent and complains about him the entire time. Before they leave, the camera pans to Daffy’s feet and shows him still wearing the high heels. He tells Bugs he likes the height they give him.

My favorite show though is Best Friend Redux. Bug’s best friend Rodney, whom he met at Camp when they were young, comes to visit for a couple of days. Daffy tries to figure out if he or Rodney is Bug’s best friend. Bugs tells him adults don’t have best friends; they just have friends. Daffy tries to make Bugs jealous by hanging out with Porky. When that doesn’t work, and he gets bored listening to Bugs and Rodney reminisce, Daffy steals Lezah’s time machine. He goes back to camp and convinces Rodney to go home because they overbooked. It works, although Little Porky who was at the camp in another cabin gets brought back to the future. Daffy takes him to the adult Porky’s house and drops him off. He goes home only to realize that Bugs doesn’t know him. Lezah explains Daffy can’t change history without changing the present. She said because Bugs never met Rodney, he never met Daffy because he meets Daffy at the post office mailing a letter to Rodney. Daffy realizes his error and goes back in time, taking little Porky with him. He stops Rodney’s bus and takes him back to camp to introduce him to Bugs. Then he puts Little Porky into their cabin instead of the boring one he was supposed to be in. At the end of the show, Rodney realizes why Daffy looks familiar. He says he looks like their camp director, Chuck Winnanatke which confuses Bugs who says that was not the camp director’s name. Daffy quickly gets them to change the subject.

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It seems like most people love or hate this reboot of Looney Tunes. Take a day this winter and have a Looney Tunes fest. Both seasons are available on DVD. You can revisit your nostalgic youth while enjoying the show from an adult point of view. I’d love to hear what you think of the show.

Fashions Fade, Style is Eternal – Yves Saint Laurent

June 12, 2017June 12, 2017 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

Fashion trends tend to come and go, but series about the world of models and clothing designers come and go even quicker. Let’s look at a few of the series that centered around the fashion industry.

Love That Jill (1958). While Love That Bob was about a photographer who did take models’ photos from time to time, Love That Jill was about the heads of two rival Manhattan model agencies (played by real life married couple Anne Jeffreys and Robert Sterling). The show only lasted three months. Jill Johnson runs a top modeling agency, putting her in direct competition with one headed by Jack Gibson. Jack is not above trying to steal her clients, but Jill, with the help of her secretary Richard (Jimmy Lydon), holds her own. Jack also tries to steal her heart, and when they are not fighting about business, Jack and Jill find time for romancing each other. Some of the models on the show were Betty Lynn as Pearl, Polly Rose as Myrtle, Barbara Nichols as Ginger, Nancy Hadley as Melody, and Kay Elhardt as Peaches.

Diana (1973). Diana Rigg (previously Emma Peel on The Avengers) was a divorced woman seeking new life in America. She was a fashion coordinator at Butley’s, a fashionable Fifth Avenue department store, where she was in charge of merchandising and advertising. Her brother has rented an apartment for her, but numerous other people seem to have keys to it as well which leads to some interesting situations. Some of the other characters included commercial model Holly Green (Carol Androsky), Butley’s president Norman Brodnik (David Sheiner), Brodnik’s wife Norma (Barbara Barrie), copywriter and office mate Howard Tolbrook (Richard B . Shull), and window dresser Marshall Tyler (Robert Moore). After four months, Diana switched jobs when her series was cancelled.

Needles and Pins (1973). This show was set in New York’s garment district. Nathan Davidson (Norman Fell) owned the Lorelei Fashion House which created women’s clothing. His brother and partner was Harry (Louis Nye) and their designer was Wendy (Deidre Lenihan) who came from Nebraska. Other characters included Sonia the bookkeeper (Sandra Deel), Charlie, a salesman (Bernie Kopell), Max a fabric cutter (Larry Gelman), Myron the patternmaker (Alex Henteloff), and Julius Singer (Milton Selzer) who was their competition in the industry. Apparently, the cast had a right to be on needles and pins because the show only lasted half a season.

Veronica’s Closet (1997-2000). Veronica is the best romance expert around. Unfortunately, her expertise only works for others. If the details about this show and its characters seem confusing to you, you are not alone.

Veronica Chase (Kirstie Alley) owns a lingerie company called Veronica’s Closet. After divorcing her husband of many years (after discovering that he has been cheating on her), she throws herself into her work. She is aided by her best friend, Olive (Kathy Najimy); Josh (Wallace Langham), her secretary whom everybody says is gay but he says he is not; and Leo (Daryl Mitchell) and Perry (Dan Cortese), two other employees.

Ok, get ready to pay attention. At the end of the first season, she took in a partner who died and the dead woman’s inept son took control of the company, wrecking it. In the next season, Alec Bilson, her previous partner’s ex-husband, bought the company from his stepson and decided to work with Veronica, or Ronnie as she is called. And while she didn’t like the arrangement, she liked him. In the third season, after Ronnie and Alec had a fight, he left abruptly and died in an accident, but before he did he married a girl named June who inherited his fortune which included Veronica’s Closet, and she drove Ronnie up the wall.

Apparently, the network felt there were too many fatal accidents and cut the show before another character was killed. While this show lasted three seasons, it actually was almost like three different series.

VERONICA’S CLOSET, (top, l to r) Daryl Mitchell, Robert Prosky, Kirstie Alley, Alan F. Smith, Kathy Najimy, (sitting) Wallace Langham, Dan Cortese, 1997-2000

Just Shoot Me (1997-2003). Hot-tempered journalist Maya Gallo (Laura San Giancomo) got herself fired from yet another job when she made an anchorwoman cry on the air with some gag copy on the teleprompter. Unable to find a job anywhere else and facing eviction, she is forced to go work for Blush, her father’s (Jack Gallo played by George Segal) fashion magazine. Maya’s father was a workaholic while she was growing up and has been divorced four times. Their time working together provides them the opportunity to heal their relationship, and Jack eventually turns over the company to his daughter. Personality conflicts quickly ensue with high-strung ex-model who can’t accept the fact that she has aged and her fans have forgotten her, Nina van Horn (Wendie Malick), philandering photographer Elliot DiMauro (Enrico Colantoni), and wise-guy secretary Dennis Finch (David Spade).

This show won its time slot most seasons which is amazing because the network moved it around quite often. The first six episodes were shown in one month. The next season it was given a great schedule on Thursday night between Friends and Seinfeld. When Seinfeld ended its show, Just Shoot Me was moved to Tuesday. For the fifth season, it was moved back to Thursdays between Will & Grace and ER where it remained for two years, getting high ratings. However, for the seventh season, several characters left the show, and it once again aired on Tuesdays. The ratings never recovered and it was cancelled.

Ugly Betty (2006-2010). This show was based on a Colombian telenovela, “Yo soy Betty, la fea” published in 1999. A young and wise woman named Betty Suarez (America Ferrera), from Queens, goes on a journey to find her inner beauty. The only problem is that it’s hard for an unattractive woman to find her beauty surrounded by tall skinny models at a fashion magazine, but Betty doesn’t let this stop her or her positive attitude towards her work.

When publishing mogul Bradford Meade puts his son Daniel (Eric Mabius) in charge of his Mode magazine, he hires Betty to be Daniel’s new assistant — mostly because he knows that she may be the only woman in Manhattan with whom the younger man won’t sleep. Betty’s hard work and determination earn Daniel’s respect, as she helps him find his way through hurdles of the fashion industry. Tony Plana, Ana Ortiz, Becki Newton, Michael Urie, Mark Indelicato, Vanessa Williams, and Judith Light also play characters on the show.

This is the other fashion show that made it more than three years, and it was also moved around the schedule. The first three years it had its highest ratings on Thursday nights. When ratings dropped after season 3, it was moved to Fridays. Fans protested and the show moved to Wednesdays airing with Modern Family and Cougar Town, but it never recovered its previous high ratings and was cancelled. In the finale, Betty accepts a job in London, and Daniel leaves the magazine.

Lipstick Jungle (2008). A look at the lives of Nico Reilly, the editor-in-chief of Bonfire magazine (Kim Raver), Wendy Healy, former president of Parador Pictures (Brooke Shields), and Victory Ford, a fashion designer (Lindsay Price) — three of “New York’s 50 Most Powerful Women,” according to The New York Post. I’m not saying they are shallow, but apparently there was not much to look at because the show only lasted 20 episodes. Andrew McCarthy, Paul Blackthorne, and Robert Buckley also were part of the regular cast.

This was another series based on a novel, Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell. Although the show debuted during the year a major writer’s strike was taking place, it never picked up any substantial ratings and was cancelled.

That Girl (1966-1971). While That Girl was not technically about on the fashion industry, Anne Marie is known for her incredible wardrobe. In a blog about fashion series, I felt it had to be included.

A young girl who moves to New York City to try to make it as an actress may not sound like revolutionary television, but this was 1966, and Marlo Thomas was an “unlikely pioneer in a flip coif and a Technicolor minidress.” She said this was the first show where a single, perky career gal learned to navigate the big city. She based the concept on her life about a girl who graduated from college, whose parents wanted her to get married while she wants to be an actress. Fans watched the show to see how Ann Marie would fare in the big city, but they also tuned in to see what she was wearing. Thomas personally chose her entire wardrobe for the show and wore many current designers’ creations. One of the designers she chose was Marilyn Lewis.

Six years before the show debuted, Lewis and her husband Harry ran a restaurant chain called Hamburger Hamlet. She decided to launch a ready-to-wear line of clothing. She could not sew but wanted to design quality apparel. She named her collection Cardinali, and Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman couldn’t get enough of her designs. Marlo Thomas, along with other celebrities such as Nancy Reagan, Betsy Bloomingdale, and Dyan Cannon also bought her outfits. A feature on Marilyn Lewis provided the following details about the designer in 2007:

As a girl growing up in Cleveland, Lewis invented the name Cardinali in homage to her absent father. She was told that he was living in Italy, and at 5 she rechristened herself Cardinali. In her first year of designing, Lewis created a 35-piece collection of suits, dresses and gowns. Her clothes, which Cameron Silver, who owns the Los Angeles vintage boutique Decades, will be showcasing in early June, are a mix of hard and soft: a tweed maxi skirt paired with a floral chiffon blouse, a wool jersey turtleneck halter gown with a plunging back. And Cardinali loved accouterment — a wool bouclé winter coat has a bag and hat to match; a floaty summer day dress comes with its own attached scarf. There is a metallic jumpsuit that Dyan Cannon wore on her first date with Cary Grant, and there is a demure silk gown with ruffles that Nancy Reagan ordered in red. Perhaps Lewis’s most famous designs were worn by Marlo Thomas in the TV show “That Girl.” The chiffon floral dress with its matching frilly umbrella that Thomas twirls during the opening credits says everything about being young and enthralled by Manhattan.

The Cardinali archive is currently stored in the Lewises’ condominium near Century City. Marilyn and Harry rent out their home in Beverly Hills and live in the 5,000-square-foot penthouse, with its breathtaking views of Los Angeles. The condo is decorated with Hamlet memorabilia, modern art and posters from Marilyn’s third career, as a movie producer. Her documentary, “Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol,” was critically acclaimed, and “The Passion of Ayn Rand,” which starred Helen Mirren, was on Showtime in 1998; Mirren won an Emmy for her performance. “As usual, when I became a producer, my husband thought I was crazy,” Lewis said in her apartment, as she presented each piece of Cardinali. “As usual, I never had doubt, but Harry always has the doubt for me. Luckily he trusts me. I could never have done any of this alone. Harry was always my producer.” She paused. “And I still can’t figure him out after all these years.”

With the fashion industry such an influence in our pop culture, it’s hard to believe that there have been only a few sitcoms about the design and modeling business. Although, I must admit that while I’m writing this, I realize that the only one of these shows I watched before I researched this blog was That Girl. Maybe the fashion business is too cut-throat to be funny, or maybe the fashion trends would date the show too much. While That Girl was one of my favorite shows, I will also admit that one of the reasons I watch today is to watch all those adorable outfits Anne Marie wears.

I Don’t Have a Free Toothbrush For You, But . . .

March 6, 2017March 6, 2017 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

Are you feeling comfortable? You might want to lean back, put on a pair of plastic glasses, and say Ahhh. Sorry, I guess I’m getting carried away by our topic today. March 6 is National Dentists Day. I thought it might be fun to delve into some shows that featured dentists. Apparently, the average viewer finds nothing funny about dentists. They are hard to spot on the small screen. Perhaps it brings back too many pain-filled memories of the sound of drills and mouths so numb you bite your lip without realizing it. Finding dentists on television was like pulling teeth – sorry I’m getting carried away again. Let’s look at a few of them.

When we think of television dentists, most of us probably conjure up pictures of Jerry Helper (played by Jerry Paris) on The Dick Van Dyke Show or Jerry Robinson (played by Peter Bonerz) on The Bob Newhart Show. These two shows can make anything funny, even dentists.

Jerry and Millie Helper are the Petries’ next-door neighbors and best friends on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Jerry is a dentist, and Millie is a stay-at-home mom with a son the same age as Richie, Rob and Laura’s son. Jerry is a kidder and his comments often get him in trouble.

One episode, “Punch Thy Neighbor” from the first season, shows Jerry taking his teasing too far. Jerry and Millie are watching the Alan Brady Show with Rob and Laura, and Jerry makes comments about how bad it is. Rob isn’t happy, but the next day he gets mad when several people, including the Helpers’ son Freddie and the milkman, tell Rob Jerry mentioned how bad the show was. Rob goes to talk to Jerry and ends up punching him accidentally. When he attempts to show Laura how it happened, he hit her as well. Richie tells Millie his dad hit his mom, and she sends Jerry over to get Rob under control. Jerry walks in seeing Rob yelling, not knowing it’s because he tripped over a toy. Trying to calm him down, Jerry wrestles him to the floor. Jerry realizes he was out of line with his joking. You would think he learned his lesson, but at the end of the episode, Jerry starts again, and Rob hits him in the face with a pie. Like all the Dick Van Dyke episodes, this one is true to life, well written, and funny.

I’m sure it was also well directed, although not by Jerry Paris. However, Paris kept nagging Reiner to let him direct. Once he did a couple of shows, Reiner realized that “he understood our show more than any of the other directors.” In 1963-64, Paris won an Emmy for directing the show. He directed 84 of the 158 episodes. After The Dick Van Dyke Show ended, he went on to direct many shows including 2 episodes of The Partridge Family, 3 episodes of Love American Style, 3 episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, 7 episodes of The New Dick Van Dyke Show, 18 episodes of The Odd Couple, and 237 of the 255 episodes of Happy Days.

From 1972-1978, Jerry Robinson was Bob Hartley’s best friend on The Bob Newhart Show. Bob realizes his friends and family are not any more emotionally stable than his patients; they just get his advice for free. Jerry is an orthodontist, and he shares a receptionist with Bob. When interviewed about his character, Bonerz said “Jerry Robinson was written by 25 guys. It was my job to make those 25 different versions of Jerry the dentist credible.” Robinson was a swinging single, slow to trust others, and easily angered. Yet, his character was likeable, and he credited that to a well-balanced cast who all made each other better. They were like a close family; you don’t always approve of your family members, but you love them. Bonerz’s theory was that Bob Newhart was the psychologist/listener of the family, and that role made everything else fall into place. If you needed a root canal, Dr. Helper might be more proficient, but you would enjoy the conversation during the procedure more with Dr. Robinson.

One dentist who was a critical component of a show, although most people don’t remember him, was Dr. Barry Farber. Dr. Farber is the man Rachel Green was supposed to marry on Friends, but she left him at the altar, ending up living with Monica and meeting a new group of friends.

Several other shows, not as well-known as these three, also featured a dentist in their cast.

Doc Corkle was on the air in 1952. Doc, played by Eddie Mayehoff, was a neighborhood dentist. He lived with his father (Chester Conklin) and his daughter (Connie Marshall). Poor Doc has some money problems. The biggest financial setback was the fact that the network cancelled the show after only three episodes.

I’m a Big Girl Now featured Diana Canova who played a divorced woman, Diana Cassidy, who goes home to live with her father Benjamin Douglass, a dentist (Danny Thomas). His partner and his wife have run off to Spain. Diana also has a daughter Rebecca and a neurotic brother named Walter. The show was cancelled mid-season.

Charley Shanowski, played by Ted McGinley, is a dentist on Hope & Faith. His wife Hope (Faith Ford) is a stay-at-home mom with three children. Her sister Faith (Kelly Ripa) was a soap opera star whose character was killed off on the show. She moves in with her sister but expects to be treated like the star she used to be. Charlie does not like Faith and spends a lot of his time trying to get her to leave. We can understand why. It seems like every time a dentist has a show where a family member moves in, the network cancels the show. At least this show made it three seasons instead of three episodes before it got pulled.

Probably my favorite show with a dentist was an episode of The Carol Burnett Show. Like so many of the funniest episodes, this one featured Tim Conway (the dentist) and Harvey Korman (the patient). When interviewed about the skit, Conway said that memorable sketches often create themselves. “The novocaine portion of the dentist sketch wasn’t planned—it just happened. That’s the magic of comedy; you never know when it is going to sneak up on you and make you laugh.” The dentist skit was based on Conway’s real-life dentist who stuck the needle of novocaine into his own thumb while working on a patient. Korman didn’t know Conway was going to put that in the sketch.

Last, but not least, I wanted to mention Edgar Buchanan, Uncle Joe in Petticoat Junction. Buchanan earned a DDS degree from North Pacific College of Dentistry in Oregon. His father was also a dentist. During the time he was a pre-med student, Edgar took acting classes at the University of Oregon and eventually left dental school to take a position in their drama department. His father convinced him to finish his dental degree first. When he returned to North Pacific he met Mildred Spence, another dental student. They graduated in 1928. After marrying, the couple moved back to Eugene, Oregon where they opened a private practice. From 1930-1937, Edgar was chief of oral surgery at the Eugene Hospital Clinic but also worked as an assistant director in the University of Oregon drama department. In 1939, the couple moved to Pasadena. When Edgar appeared in a production at the Pasadena Playhouse, he received his first film offer. So, at the age of 36, he turned over the practice to his wife and became an actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1941 and 1974. He was the only cast member of Petticoat Junction to appear in all 222 episodes.

Apparently dentists are not too popular. There are a handful of shows about them while there are tons of shows about attorneys. But dentists are our friends, so to celebrate their day today, take a moment and watch the following:

www.liftable.com/edwardtofil/tim-conway-made-harvey-korman-wet.

Tim Conway talks about The Dentist episode to Conan O’Brien and they play a clip from it. If you watch it enough times, you might not actually look forward to going to the dentist, but you might not dread it as much. And if you’re a hopeful television creator, write a show about dentists. They’re due for a big hit.