DAY 179: Mike and Molly

Series Run : 2010- current

114 episodes

Network: CBS

Series Premise (as far as I can tell):

The  life of an overweight middle-aged couple

Episode Watched: Mike Check (Season 5)

Episode Summary: Molly wants Mike to go to the doctor for a check up and he doesn’t want to go, so she has to trick him.

My Thoughts: I can’t decide if this is a weird mashup of the Honeymooners & I love Lucy brought forth to the 21st century, or just a quick reboot of The King of Queens, where both main characters are overweight, instead of just one. That being said, I suppose it doesn’t change my feelings after watching an episode of it. The show is adequately acted and written, and it has some funny lines from time to time, but it isn’t anything I am going to rush out and tell people they have to watch. It could easily be a show that eats up time slots on a Friday or Saturday night, for the older stay-at-home folks in the audience. I am not sure how I feel about the genisys of the idea being so clearly about the main couple needing to be obese, it’s almost as if that was one of the selling points to make it unique, “it’s not just about any regular newlywed couple! This couple is obese! Think of all the directions we could take with that concept!” Melissa McCarthy continues to try to be a movie star based on the success of this show, and Swoosie Kurtz has resurfaced and plays her mother, which honestly is a rather jarring piece of casting. Watch this if you must, but if you miss it, you aren’t missing much.

 Memorable Quotes:

“I always forget that the family in my head is not the one that shows up” -Molly

“There wasn’t a family emergency, that won’t happen untill he gets home”-Molly

“You logged a lot of miles on that cement truck body of yours”– Carl

Acting Notables:

Melissa McCarthy- Molly

Billy Gardell- Mike

Swoosie Kurtz- Joyce

Tomorrow: Before Once Upon a Time, these fairy tale characters were trapped in the present day

DAY 173: Square Pegs

Series Run : 1982-1983

20 episodes

Network: CBS

Series Premise (as far as I can tell):

Two teenage girls try to become popular during high school

Episode Watched: Square Pigskins (Season 1)

Episode Summary: The school decides to launch a girl’s football team.

My Thoughts: Often times our memories end up being better than what we actually experienced. I am sorry to say, that this show, which in many avenues has reached cult level status, is one of those memories that was better left buried in my mind. To say this is a bad show is an understatement. A show with so many over-the-top high school stereotypes it actually makes you uncomfortable watching them being portrayed by the actors. They are all here, Nerd, Valley Girl, Jock, Preppy, Sci-Fi Geek, Cheerleader, Token Black Friend, and in an odd choice- the “still living in the army” Vietnam Vet. I cannot begin to describe how awful the acting is in this show, it reminds me of a show my friends and I would have cobbled together when bored during the summer (and we did make some pretty awful stuff). Sarah Jessica Parker is the main star who emerged from this train wreck, although Jami Gertz and a couple other’s will be recognized. Although this entry didn’t have him, I have no idea why Bill Murray showed up for cameos in a few episodes. Alas, I am here to tell you if you hold this show in any kind of nostalgic memory, its best left there, Watching it now will only destroy any happy memories you may have of it. 

 Memorable Quotes:

“That’s just an old trick I picked up in ‘Nam, they were just blanks…….this time” -Mr. Murray

“Halftime, I like the sound of that, it sounds so slow”-Slash

“Everybody knows you can’t spell sportsmanship without M-A-N”– Vinnie

Acting Notables:

Sarah Jessica Parker- Patty

Amy Linker- Lauren

Jami Gertz- Muffy

Tomorrow: BBC goes to space, again.

DAY 172: Fish Police

Series Run : 1992

6 episodes

Network: CBS

Series Premise (as far as I can tell):

The Police investigate crimes in a fish city underwater

Episode Watched: The Shell Game (Season 1)

Episode Summary: Wealthy casino owner gets murdered and Gil has to prove his hot to trot ex girlfriend didn’t commit the crime.

My Thoughts: You would think a show with the talents of John Ritter, Robert Gullaume, JoBeth Williams, Megan Mullaly, Jonathan Winters, Tim Curry, Hector Elizondo, Ed Asner, Buddy Hackett and Phil Hartman would at least last longer than 6 episodes! Yet, all those people couldn’t save this odd primetime cartoon from the early 90’s. Based on a comic book of the same name, the show seems to take 1950’s crime drama and places it in a Fish Based society. The series revolves around the investigations and life of Inspector Gil, played by John Ritter. The show has a ton of narration, and a bunch of fish related play on words, that to be honest, when read on the script were probably more clever and funny then they appeared when said on-screen. At day’s end, I never felt like I was watching cartoon characters interact with each other, but rather I felt I was listening to those recognizable actors reading lines to each other in the next room. You should watch this just to see what happens when this much talent fails at something.

 Memorable Quotes:

“No No, I said Inspector Gil, not inspect her gills” -Gil

“Sometimes a carp’s gotta do what a carps gotta do”-Gil

Acting Notables:

John Ritter- Gil (voice)

Hector Elizondo- Calamari (Voice)

Tim Curry- Sharkster (voice)

Tomorrow: An 80’s nostalgia show that should have stayed in my memories

DAY 170: My Little Margie

Series Run : 1952-1955

126 episodes

Network: CBS/NBC

Series Premise (as far as I can tell):

The Adventures of a Middle Aged Father and his Adult Daughter

Episode Watched: Buried Treasure (Season 4)

Episode Summary: Margie and Dad rent a beach house on vacation, only to find a fake treasure map, as well as discover the house was a hideout for two recently released gangsters.

My Thoughts: Clearly conceived as a vehicle for actress, Gale Storm, this is a wacky screwball comedy, which places the young, free spiritied Maggie into various situations around a bunch of stodgy, middle aged men. The humor is then derived from her antics and the shock & awe from the men. Gale Storm has a little bit of Lucille Ball in her with her demeanor and voice, while the show itself would probably have worked better as a radio show. This episode in particular has 2 guys hamming it up as the most stereotypical 1950’s gangsters you could think of. While not bad, it certainly isnt memorable, and I fell as though I should have known Gale Storm from something, but alas, she to was forgettable as well it seems.

 Memorable Quotes:

“What’s the guy from the bottle of iodine doing on the map?” -Lefty

“I’ve never thought of myself as a dead man”-Mr. Todd

Acting Notables:

Gale Storm- Margie

Charles Farrell- Vern

Don Hayden- Freddy

Tomorrow: Cute 80’s movie star gets cute NBC 90’s show

DAY 158: Archie Bunker’s Place

Series Run : 1979-1982

97 episodes

Network: CBS

Series Premise (as far as I can tell):

Lovable Bigot Archie runs a pub in New York City

Episode Watched: The Eyewitnesses (Season 4)

Episode Summary: Jose & Raoul witness a mugging, but are afraid to come forward to the police because they are illegal immigrants from El Salvador.

My Thoughts: Right off the bat, Archie Bunker is an upgrade over those horrific BBC shows that his character spawned from. That being said, I have never understood the appeal of his character. I think it’s a function of my age and the time I grew up, that I can’t relate to the bigotry and nonsense this guy spews. This sequel series to the popular All in the Family, gives us a slightly less intense version of Archie, and moves the setting from his house, to mainly a pub in the city. It opens the atmosphere a bit and allows for some normalcy of life to sneak into his existence. In this entry, the 2 stereotypical hispanic cooks, in between jokes regarding their heritage and lack of education, witness a horrible mugging. The rest of the show is about the somewhat serious conundrum about the cooks being deported if they choose to come forward as witnesses to the crime.  That solemn storyline is peppered with a clueless Archie, making crass comments and being more concerned with losing profits and the ability to cook food at the pub, rather than the well-being of his staff or mugging victims. I guess this passed for funny in the early 80’s as it was a highly rated show. Not my cup of tea, but it isn’t unwatchable.

 Memorable Quotes:

“The problem with this country is we ain’t done nothing since President Coolidge” -Archie

“Sorry Jose. He made me spill the frijoles!”-Raoul

“You and the right thing…get away from me!”– Archie

Acting Notables:

Carroll O’ Connor- Archie

Martin Balsam- Murray

Tomorrow: Kids in a Military Boarding School!

DAY 147: My Living Doll

Series Run : 1964-1965

26 episodes

Network: CBS

Series Premise (as far as I can tell):

NASA Psychiatrist takes care of top-secret android that looks like a Swedish supermodel

Episode Watched: The Uninvited Guest (Season 1)

Episode Summary: Bob’s boss from NASA makes an unexpected visit at the same time Rhoda’s circuits get scrambled due to a reading of Alice in Wonderland.

My Thoughts: You know, just typing the series premise and episode summary gives me pause of how ludicrous this entire show was. There is some loose premise about a NASA scientist creating this android, but doesn’t want it to fall into the governments hands while he is on assignment in Pakistan, so he dumps the robot to his psychiatrist friend and asks him to hide her while he’s away. It’s never clear the consequence of not hiding her, and she literally speaks in a monotone, robot-esque voice, leading me to wonder how no one knew she was a robot. There is a running gag involving the gut who lives down the hall, who is in love with said robot and is constantly trying to “get with her” if you know what I mean. Clearly the girl from 80’s syndicated show, Small Wonder, patterned her own robotic performance after the one displayed here by Julie Newmar. I can only assume some exec somewhere saw Julie Newmar and said we had to give her a show. The ratings were so bad the star, Bob Cummings, left after the 21st episode and the caretaking duties of the robot were transferred to the lust filled guy down the hall. Thank goodness we have Batman to remember Julie Newar on television, rather than this ill-conceived show.

  Memorable Quotes:

“Nobody will believe it. A computer with a head full of Alice in Wonderland” -Dr. Bob

“C’mon it’s not polite to keep a fringe benefit waiting” -Irene

Acting Notables:

Bob Cummings- Dr. Bob

Julie Newmar- Rhoda (the android)

Jack Mullaney- Peter

Tomorrow: An update of the Monkees????

DAY 146: The Real McCoys

Series Run : 1957-1963

224 episodes

Network: ABC/CBS

Series Premise (as far as I can tell):

Farmers from West Virginia move to Californy (thats what they called it)

Episode Watched: The New Well (Season 2)

Episode Summary: A new well has to be dug and Amos uses his trusty Diviner Rod to locate a place to dig, even though the kids would prefer the scientific approach from the local geologist.

My Thoughts: Two things leapt out at me as I watched this show, first: THEY MADE 224 EPISODES OF THIS! and secondly, “Is that really Richard Crenna?”. The show is actually a vehicle for Walter Brennan, who plays the curmudgeon patriarch backwoods farmer extremely well. Everything about his performance from costume, to the way he walks and talks is spot on. What is strangely out-of-place for me, as having only memories of Richard Crenna as Rambo’s commanding officer and bad guy from Summer Rental, is a folksy, southern voiced Richard Crenna as Amos’ son. If ever there was a before/after commercial about the dangers of smoking, Richard Crenna as Luke vs. Richard Crenna as Col. Trautman should scare anyone from smoking. As for the show itself, its extremely wholesome and non offensive. For the farmers out there in the audience I am sure it appealed to their lifestyles and their view of what Californy must be like. Whatever the reason, it was popular for over 6 years and 200 episodes, and while not particularly memorable, it isn’t that bad either.

  Memorable Quotes:

“The only thing backing up that big mouth of yours is an empty head” -George

“The stick don’t lie!” -Amos

“You gotta be sick, you’re too easy to get along with” – George

Acting Notables:

Walter Brennan- Amos

Richard Crenna- Luke

Kathy Nolan- Kate

Michael Winkelman- Little Luke

Tomorrow: Pre-Catwoman Julie Newmar, she plays a robot

DAY 142: Phil Silvers Show/Sgt. Bilko

Series Run : 1955-1959

143 episodes

Network: CBS

Series Premise (as far as I can tell):

Shenanigans of con-man and master sergeant Bilko

Episode Watched: Bivouac (Season 1)

Episode Summary: The annual training exercises are to take place, and the annual scam by Bilko to contract some crazy disease in order to avoid the exercise is also taking place.

My Thoughts: This is an odd one to review, aside from the fact it started as the Phil Silvers show and they changed the name to Sgt. Bilko about half way through its run. There isn’t a whole lot to the show, it mainly follows Bilko as he concocts some kind of scheme and the reactions and fallout from that scheme. I guess the issue I had was that I didn’t really buy that people would fall for or be that gullible for a guy like Bilko. He comes off rather obnoxious and pushy, which may have been Phil Silvers style of comedy, but it doesn’t serve the believability that this guy is a smooth talker who can manipulate people to do whatever he wants them to. Yet time and again, their defenses collapse almost immediately. As such, its hard for me to say I enjoyed watching this. I even struggle to place it for the time it was on, as a mid 50’s show, this was one of the first ones out of the gate, and it does suffer from the same radio to tv transitions we have talked about in other shows of the time, but in this case, unless you really like Phil Silvers, or thought Bilko was a great character, the show lacks appeal. This may be why the Steve Martin movie of the same name failed at the box office, the character just doesn’t play well to modern audiences.

 Memorable Quotes:

“Tonsilitis twice, once the hard way, with no tonsils” -Col. Hall

“Mr. Bilko, relax, you’re going to be OK…Nurse! Get the Chaplin” -Curtis

Acting Notables:

Phil Silvers- Bilko

Harvey Lembeck- Rocco

Paul Ford- Col. Hall

Tomorrow: A horror based comedy show from MTV

DAY 138: The Honeymooners

Series Run : 1955-1856

39 episodes

Network: CBS

Series Premise (as far as I can tell):

Life of Blue Collar Bus Driver Ralph Kramden

Episode Watched: The Man from Space (Season 1)

Episode Summary: Ralph is determined to win a costume contest, unfortunately Norton has the same plan, which leads Ralph to be extra-creative.

My Thoughts: When this one came up on the ol’ randomizer, I knew the episode I wanted to watch. As a child from the 80’s, Back to the Future used the Honeymooners as a thread in Marty’s travels from the 80’s to the 50’s, the episode called out, ‘the one where Ralph dresses up as a man from space’ it was referenced as a classic. Having finally gotten an opportunity to watch the whole episode, I will need to figure out what definition of ‘classic’ was being used in 1985. It seems everyone in the pop culture world is aware of the Honeymooners, I find this fascinating, as the show only lasted one season, and a paltry 39 episodes, yet you can probably still find reruns somewhere on cable to this day. It also is known mostly for Jackie Gleason, yet I found that Art Carney has the best lines and gets the most laughs, and this entry is no different, with Carney’s costume as a French Nobleman who is the father of the Paris sewer system. I will say this, the show feels different from most that were on the air at the time, it feels like you are watching a play at a theatre, with the look of the sets, the small number of actors, the way the actors enter/exit scenes, and the audience reaction each time an actor appears. From that standpoint it was definitely unique to the standard sitcom fare of the early 50’s. But to call it a classic, just seems odd. It was definitely different for the time, but to me, it doesn’t stand up to the test of time. Perhaps there is a uniqueness and connection to those that first consumed television, and its that nostalgia that keeps it alive in todays time, but in a contemporary landscape, it wouldn’t even last half a season.

 Memorable Quotes:

“What’d you expect to come out of the sewer? The man in the gray flannel suit?” -Norton

“Bang, Zoom!” -Ralph

Acting Notables:

Jackie Gleason- Ralph

Art Carney- Norton

Aubrey Meadows- Alice

Tomorrow: A Swedish housekeeper

DAY 137: Pete and Gladys

Series Run : 1960-1962

72 episodes

Network: CBS

Series Premise (as far as I can tell):

Newlyweds Pete and Gladys live their lives

Episode Watched: Never Forget a Friend (Season 2)

Episode Summary: Gladys inexplicably cannot remember anything, leading to a series of conflicts and ruining the reconciliation of Pete and one of his old friends.

My Thoughts: Few things can be taken from this show. 1) CBS was searching for another Lucy-type show, as Gladys is made to look, sound and act like Lucille Ball. 2) Networks used to make a lot more episodes than nowadays, as this poor effort still got 2 full seasons and a staggering 72 episodes! It’s not that the show is bad or hard to watch, as it’s just boring and terrifically average. The writing isn’t particularly good, and the chemistry between Harry Morgan and Cara Williams is non-existent. This entry is rather weird, as it consists of Gladys suffering from an unexplained bout of memory loss. I mean short-term, long-term whatever type of memory you can think of, at one point or another in this show she suffers from it. The gag grows tiresome, 4 minutes into the episode, and unfortunately for you the viewing audience, it runs through the entirety of the 25 minute run time. An example, that even in the early years of TV, executives saw something that worked and tried to copy that formula as many times as possible, regardless of the quality.

 Memorable Quotes:

“Is confusion a sign of old age?” -Gladys

“How could you forget a simple thing like sherbet?” -Gladys

Acting Notables:

Harry Morgan- Pete

Cara Williams- Gladys

Tomorrow: A Back to the Future inspired viewing