TELEVISION
- Discovery
Channel's Auction
Kings returns
next Wednesday, April 25 at 10:00 PM EST. Great
show.
- Discovery cancelled Cash
Cab. Bad channel. I am in mourning.
- It's that time of year again. TVLand's 10th Anniversary
Awards Show will air on -- where else? -- TVLand on Sunday, April
29 at 9 PM EST. Look forward to seeing all your favorites,
including reunions of Laverne And Shirley and
One Day At A Time, as well as appearances by Pee-Wee
Herman and Aretha Franklin. Murphy Brown and
In Living Color will be honored. No word on whether Dan Quayle will be presenting
the cast of Murphy Brown with their award. This
year's host is Kelly Ripa, despite the fact that she lacks a sort of...
je ne sais Reege.
- One of my few cable obsessions, Syfy's Hollywood
Treasure, returns May 22
(Morrissey's birthday) with a look at Sean Astin's Lord of the
Rings memorabilia collection! I can't WAIT until this show
starts up again. [via the show's official Facebook page]
- Can you believe it's officially been 25 years since the Simpsons
first appeared as a short on the Tracy Ullman show? I wasn't an instant
fan, but it sure is hard to remember a time before the Simpsons. Sadly,
no one is celebrating any such anniversaries for Herman's
Head.
- A new documentary, Plastic Galaxy: The
Story of Star Wars Toys, is about, arguably, the
best part of the Star Wars universe: THE
TOYS! I'm going to watch the newly released trailer
with my two favorite fellas, Bib Fortuna and Squidhead. And perhaps
Salacious Crumb. I wonder if director Brian Stillman can track down my
beloved (and missing) Return of the Jedi cup with the chocolate milk stain.
MUSIC
- Morrissey's official Facebook page announced a handful of US tour
dates coming up (two in Hawaii and his birthday, May 22, in San Diego)!
Will he next turn his lovely head to the east? I say yes. He says no,
but he might change his mind.
- Blur is celebrating 21 years since the release of their debut album,
Leisure, with an incredible box set and expanded
remastered albums. It's a 21
disc box set with all seven of their albums receiving the
expanded two-disc treatment. Plus four discs of exclusive rarities
(claiming 3 1/2 hours of 'unreleased' material). Plus three DVDs
(claiming over 2 hours of 'unreleased' footage) with two live shows and
an exclusive disc of video rarities. Plus a collectible 7" of a very
early (Seymour-era) live track. Plus a deluxe hard-bound book with new
interviews, extensive liner notes, and unseen photos. There's no way
that such an incredible sounding bit of loot won't boast an equally
incredible price tag [note: £158?! YIKES. NO WAY.]. It's worth noting
that the remastered two-disc albums will be available separately and
will also be available on vinyl. Apparently, you can pre-order through
Blur's official site or Amazon.co.uk. If only they would throw in every
single b-side plus the various EPs like Bustin' +
Dronin'.. AND the new post-reunion tracks
(that were mostly for the independent Record Store Day), as well as the
live albums that stemmed from their recent reunion concerts. Despite
the completeness of the Blur box set, I figure if I refused to shell
out the big bucks for The Smiths' comparable box set, (which, to be
fair, had none of the earth-shattering rarities), I won't do it for
Blur.
- Since Pulp's 2011 live reunion of the classic Different
Class-era line-up [Jarvis Cocker, Russell Senior, Steve
Mackey, Candida Doyle, Mark Weber, and Nick Banks], they have continued
to headline some major festivals and concerts. Recently they made it to
America, most tragically for two sold-out shows at New York's Radio
City Music Hall. They also headlined Coachella (along with
those crazy kids from Madness)! Last week, Pulp made their first appearance on
American television in fourteen years on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
(they performed 'Common People' and one other song that is exclusively
on Jimmy Fallon's website). The performance was fantastic, though it
was soured somewhat by the lack of Russell Senior (note that two people
had to take his place). I don't know if that means that he didn't make
it to America with the rest of the group. Here's
a clip of Pulp making their American televison debut in 1995 on David
Letterman. By the time I saw this performance, I had heard Pulp but
didn't have any of their albums. I was immediately hooked and bought
the album by the end of the month. They've been a favorite ever since!
LITERATURE
- J.K. Rowling
recently announced she will be publishing her first adult novel,
The Casual Vacancy in September.
- J.K. Rowling will also be publishing an official Harry Potter encyclopedia.
- Noir scholar Robert Polito has compiled five novels by the cult
Philadelphia noir writer David
Goodis. Five
Noir Novels of the 1940s & 50s received a rave
review by the Philadelphia Inquirer. A panel discussion on
David Goodis appeared
to be the highlight of this year's abbreviated Philadelphia Book
Festival.
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Showing posts with label tv land. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tv land. Show all posts
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Nick Knack, the 90s are Back!
The 90s Were All That!!, according to the folks at TeenNick, which debuted a new weeknight block of retro-themed programming celebrating those bygone, heady days of the... 1990s!? Yes, apparently, it's never too early to reminisce fondly over your lost childhood.
Eat your heart out, Harvey Kinkle!
Here's the line-up, so far:
All That, a Saturday Night Live-styled show for kids which aired from 1994 until 2005. Notable alumni include Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Amanda Bynes, and Nick "Mr. Mariah" Cannon.
Kenan And Kel spun off into their own show in 1996 (until 2000). I was thrilled to see a familiar face in the cast, Dan Frischman (Arvid, everyone's favorite nerd from Head Of The Class), whose future was so bright that he had to wear shades! Case in point: Frischman played both 'guy on phone' on an episode of Seinfeld and County Records Clerk on Melrose Place. And, yes, I do remember both episodes!
Clarissa Explains It All, Melissa Joan Hart's first television series. Not quite as good as Sabrina, but that would really be expecting too much of a tv show!
Doug, a cute animated series which began in 1991.
Marc Summers wondering how they get the creme in the middle of the Twinkie
So far, the reception has been wildly enthusiastic. TeenNick, never a contender for highest ratings in that particular scheduling block, received an impressive ratings boost during its first week, and certain social networks were all a-twitter with comments relating to the programming. The apparent success of the endeavor makes a curious viewer wonder if Nickelodeon will be expanding their new schedule with more blasts from the past. The hypnotic megamix commercial that TeenNick drums into our brains while we're watching this super-sweet block of programming shows copious clips of Double Dare, which I HOPE will soon be added. After all, who doesn't love Marc Summers? Just think, you could watch Double Dare and then tune into the Food Network to see what he's been eating on Unwrapped!
Retro programming on cable is not a new concept, of course. The HUB has been doing it for almost a year. They've been airing an exciting collection of older family-centric programming every weeknight (including The Wonder Years, Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, Family Ties, Doogie Howser MD, and Batman). They relaunched three popular 1980s cartoons, Jem; Transformers; and G.I. Joe; and they added revamped versions of My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake to their channel, but they are noticeably inferior to the original series that launched many girls' playtimes. Speaking of revamped 1980s animated series, Cartoon Network aired the first episode of its new version of Thundercats, a favorite of mine in the 1980s, on Friday night at 8:00 PM. Sadly, it didn't reignite my love of the franchise. Perhaps Thundercats was never a very good show to begin with, or, maybe this version is too different. Interestingly, Will Friedle, who played Ben Savage's cuter older brother on Boy Meets World, voiced Lion-O in this new version. Personally, I would prefer to stick to Cartoon Network's superior Boomerang channel to satisfy my itch for old cartoons. It's a sure bet since it airs mostly classics from the 1960s to 1980s.
While The HUB is a breath of fresh air, it's surely taking inspiration from the once glorious Nick At Nite. I'm still gutted at the poor state of Nick At Nite and its younger sibling, TV Land. Both have become disappointing wastelands airing non-remarkable and fairly recent crap like The George Lopez Show and The Nanny. Three's Company is great, but it begs the question: how much Mr. Furley can one really take? (Also, 'did the production team spend all their money on Mr. Furley's medallions?,' but that's a different issue for a future post) What happened to Nickelodeon's mission to provide CLASSIC tv programming to the masses? I have to assume they felt that they had exhausted people with the timeless, and they wanted to appeal to an audience with lower expectations. I hope that the Nickelodeon programmers will take a cue from the popularity of their 90s block and bring back the 80s.. and the 70s.. and the 60s.. and the 50s..! Wouldn't it be great if they would repopulate their schedule with fun and innovative programming again? I should also add that the Nickelodeon channel predated these 1990s shows by about a decade, and while these might have been what put Nick on the map, it would be great for them to open their vault doors a little wider.
Other cable and non-cable channels should take a hint, too! Comedy Central, for example, used to be a decent channel but now only shows random guys narrating lame YouTube videos and unfunny comedians I've never heard of doing terrible stand-up routines. I'd be willing to fashion a whole new schedule of 'oldie' Comedy Central programs for them!
My retro dream channel, however, would be devoted to vintage PBS. Old PBS children's programming can't be beaten by anything that's on television today. From whole episodes of classic Sesame Street, Electric Company, and Mr. Rogers through 3-2-1 Contact, Square One TV, and Reading Rainbow -- not to mention the best geographical game show ever, Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? -- this would be a fantastic idea and a huge draw to PBS. In fact, I bet they would see a boost in donations if they would reinstate some of their better fare. Personally, I think we all could use a review of these fun, educational gems. Sometimes one forgets letters of the alphabet, how to add, and how to form a proper sentence. We're probably also lacking in basic science and geographical knowledge, as well as the gentle art of civility as taught to us by Mr. Fred Rogers. Leave out the Bar(lo)ney, Clifford, and Elmo! Make that E in "E/I" count, PBS!
Well, one can dream about these ultimate schedules, but Nick's new programming block is a step in the right direction, and I recommend tuning in every weeknight (from 12 to 2 AM EST) if you were a fan of any of these shows that were, you know, all that!
[The 90s Were All That block 12 AM - 2 AM (reshown 2 AM - 4 AM) TeenNick channel, Monday-Friday. Check your local listings and the official website]
Here's the line-up, so far:
All That, a Saturday Night Live-styled show for kids which aired from 1994 until 2005. Notable alumni include Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Amanda Bynes, and Nick "Mr. Mariah" Cannon.
Kenan And Kel spun off into their own show in 1996 (until 2000). I was thrilled to see a familiar face in the cast, Dan Frischman (Arvid, everyone's favorite nerd from Head Of The Class), whose future was so bright that he had to wear shades! Case in point: Frischman played both 'guy on phone' on an episode of Seinfeld and County Records Clerk on Melrose Place. And, yes, I do remember both episodes!
Clarissa Explains It All, Melissa Joan Hart's first television series. Not quite as good as Sabrina, but that would really be expecting too much of a tv show!
Doug, a cute animated series which began in 1991.
So far, the reception has been wildly enthusiastic. TeenNick, never a contender for highest ratings in that particular scheduling block, received an impressive ratings boost during its first week, and certain social networks were all a-twitter with comments relating to the programming. The apparent success of the endeavor makes a curious viewer wonder if Nickelodeon will be expanding their new schedule with more blasts from the past. The hypnotic megamix commercial that TeenNick drums into our brains while we're watching this super-sweet block of programming shows copious clips of Double Dare, which I HOPE will soon be added. After all, who doesn't love Marc Summers? Just think, you could watch Double Dare and then tune into the Food Network to see what he's been eating on Unwrapped!
Retro programming on cable is not a new concept, of course. The HUB has been doing it for almost a year. They've been airing an exciting collection of older family-centric programming every weeknight (including The Wonder Years, Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, Family Ties, Doogie Howser MD, and Batman). They relaunched three popular 1980s cartoons, Jem; Transformers; and G.I. Joe; and they added revamped versions of My Little Pony and Strawberry Shortcake to their channel, but they are noticeably inferior to the original series that launched many girls' playtimes. Speaking of revamped 1980s animated series, Cartoon Network aired the first episode of its new version of Thundercats, a favorite of mine in the 1980s, on Friday night at 8:00 PM. Sadly, it didn't reignite my love of the franchise. Perhaps Thundercats was never a very good show to begin with, or, maybe this version is too different. Interestingly, Will Friedle, who played Ben Savage's cuter older brother on Boy Meets World, voiced Lion-O in this new version. Personally, I would prefer to stick to Cartoon Network's superior Boomerang channel to satisfy my itch for old cartoons. It's a sure bet since it airs mostly classics from the 1960s to 1980s.
While The HUB is a breath of fresh air, it's surely taking inspiration from the once glorious Nick At Nite. I'm still gutted at the poor state of Nick At Nite and its younger sibling, TV Land. Both have become disappointing wastelands airing non-remarkable and fairly recent crap like The George Lopez Show and The Nanny. Three's Company is great, but it begs the question: how much Mr. Furley can one really take? (Also, 'did the production team spend all their money on Mr. Furley's medallions?,' but that's a different issue for a future post) What happened to Nickelodeon's mission to provide CLASSIC tv programming to the masses? I have to assume they felt that they had exhausted people with the timeless, and they wanted to appeal to an audience with lower expectations. I hope that the Nickelodeon programmers will take a cue from the popularity of their 90s block and bring back the 80s.. and the 70s.. and the 60s.. and the 50s..! Wouldn't it be great if they would repopulate their schedule with fun and innovative programming again? I should also add that the Nickelodeon channel predated these 1990s shows by about a decade, and while these might have been what put Nick on the map, it would be great for them to open their vault doors a little wider.
Other cable and non-cable channels should take a hint, too! Comedy Central, for example, used to be a decent channel but now only shows random guys narrating lame YouTube videos and unfunny comedians I've never heard of doing terrible stand-up routines. I'd be willing to fashion a whole new schedule of 'oldie' Comedy Central programs for them!
My retro dream channel, however, would be devoted to vintage PBS. Old PBS children's programming can't be beaten by anything that's on television today. From whole episodes of classic Sesame Street, Electric Company, and Mr. Rogers through 3-2-1 Contact, Square One TV, and Reading Rainbow -- not to mention the best geographical game show ever, Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? -- this would be a fantastic idea and a huge draw to PBS. In fact, I bet they would see a boost in donations if they would reinstate some of their better fare. Personally, I think we all could use a review of these fun, educational gems. Sometimes one forgets letters of the alphabet, how to add, and how to form a proper sentence. We're probably also lacking in basic science and geographical knowledge, as well as the gentle art of civility as taught to us by Mr. Fred Rogers. Leave out the Bar(lo)ney, Clifford, and Elmo! Make that E in "E/I" count, PBS!
Well, one can dream about these ultimate schedules, but Nick's new programming block is a step in the right direction, and I recommend tuning in every weeknight (from 12 to 2 AM EST) if you were a fan of any of these shows that were, you know, all that!
[The 90s Were All That block 12 AM - 2 AM (reshown 2 AM - 4 AM) TeenNick channel, Monday-Friday. Check your local listings and the official website]
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
2011 TV Land Awards
The 2011 TV Land Awards aired Sunday, April 17. This year's nostalgia fest was a thrilling set of cast reunions with more sweet and tearful moments than a night of saccharine Nick at Nite programming. The show opened with a bang: Liza Minnelli belting out 'New York, New York' to a packed room of enthusiastic sitcom legends.
Next up, Stevie Wonder presented the Huxtables with the Impact Award for the Cosby Show and serenaded the cast with 'Higher Ground.' The stage was packed with an almost full-cast reunion. Sadly, though not surprisingly, it was Deniseless. Trophies were handed out to Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Sabrina Le Beauf, Geoffrey Owens, a very handsome Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, and Raven-Symone. They're still a good looking cast! I was hoping to see Rudy's friend, Kenny, to see if he would eat the croutons in his salad! [from the third season episode 'Planning Parenthood,' which aired April 30, 1987]
The girls of Eastland earned the Pop Culture Award for The Facts of Life, which was accepted by Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, Nancy McKeon, and Geri Jewell. Also in attendance was a relatively subdued Cloris Leachman. My favorite episode of The Facts Of Life involved a not-very-savvy Natalie returning from New York City with only the detachable straps of her purse. She didn't realize that the bulk of her handbag (with all its contents) was no longer attached to it! Typical Natalie!
Family Ties won the Fan Favorite Award, and it most certainly was a favorite of mine! The award was accepted by the entire Keaton clan (sans Andy who is no longer family-friendly viewing), including Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Michael J. Fox, Terri Pollan, Justine Bateman, Tina Yothers, and Marc Prince (Skippy!). Sadly, Nick was not present. Yo.
The 35th anniversary of Welcome Back, Kotter was, coincidentally, the recipient of the 35th Anniversary Award. Gabe Kaplin, a teary-eyed John Travolta, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, and the rest of the Sweathogs (minus Horshack, apparently) were on hand. John Travolta seemed to be having the time of his life! Even John Sebastian, the singer of the highly catchy theme song, was in the audience.
Barbara Walters looked back at the record-shattering career of Regis Philbin and bestowed the Legend Award on the dynamo. Hall and Oates got the Music Icon Award. They sang one of their fifty hits to an ecstatic crowd. While I was never a big Hall and Oates fan, it sure beats that autotuned what-have-you they call music now! Missing: John Oates' moustache.
Undeniably, the best part of the entire evening was a thpoof trailer for the new Brady Bunch movie, Thindy's Thpeech. I think it's going to thweep the Oscars next year!
The entire show is available at the TV Land website for free. For the latest TV Land news, follow them on Twitter. Then follow me on Twitter.
Next up, Stevie Wonder presented the Huxtables with the Impact Award for the Cosby Show and serenaded the cast with 'Higher Ground.' The stage was packed with an almost full-cast reunion. Sadly, though not surprisingly, it was Deniseless. Trophies were handed out to Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Sabrina Le Beauf, Geoffrey Owens, a very handsome Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, and Raven-Symone. They're still a good looking cast! I was hoping to see Rudy's friend, Kenny, to see if he would eat the croutons in his salad! [from the third season episode 'Planning Parenthood,' which aired April 30, 1987]
The girls of Eastland earned the Pop Culture Award for The Facts of Life, which was accepted by Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, Nancy McKeon, and Geri Jewell. Also in attendance was a relatively subdued Cloris Leachman. My favorite episode of The Facts Of Life involved a not-very-savvy Natalie returning from New York City with only the detachable straps of her purse. She didn't realize that the bulk of her handbag (with all its contents) was no longer attached to it! Typical Natalie!
Family Ties won the Fan Favorite Award, and it most certainly was a favorite of mine! The award was accepted by the entire Keaton clan (sans Andy who is no longer family-friendly viewing), including Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Michael J. Fox, Terri Pollan, Justine Bateman, Tina Yothers, and Marc Prince (Skippy!). Sadly, Nick was not present. Yo.
The 35th anniversary of Welcome Back, Kotter was, coincidentally, the recipient of the 35th Anniversary Award. Gabe Kaplin, a teary-eyed John Travolta, Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs, and the rest of the Sweathogs (minus Horshack, apparently) were on hand. John Travolta seemed to be having the time of his life! Even John Sebastian, the singer of the highly catchy theme song, was in the audience.
Barbara Walters looked back at the record-shattering career of Regis Philbin and bestowed the Legend Award on the dynamo. Hall and Oates got the Music Icon Award. They sang one of their fifty hits to an ecstatic crowd. While I was never a big Hall and Oates fan, it sure beats that autotuned what-have-you they call music now! Missing: John Oates' moustache.
Undeniably, the best part of the entire evening was a thpoof trailer for the new Brady Bunch movie, Thindy's Thpeech. I think it's going to thweep the Oscars next year!
The entire show is available at the TV Land website for free. For the latest TV Land news, follow them on Twitter. Then follow me on Twitter.
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