Benjamonster's TV

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I am back with a new week of blog posts. To start, here's a look at Fridays in the 1986-87 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Webster Mr. Belvedere Sidekicks Sledge Hammer! Starman Oct Nov Dec Dads Gung Ho Jan Gung Ho Dads Feb Various Programs Mar The Charmings Webster Apr Friday Night Movie May Webster Mr. Belvedere ABC had a rough go of it on Friday nights in 1986-87. They threw a lot at the wall but nothing really stuck. They first continued with a two hour block. The 8pm hour stayed the same with Webster and Mr.  Belvedere . The pairing wasn't gangbusters but it kept the lights on in the hour. Late in the season, Webster ...

Here's a look at this week's Top 5 TV news stories! I'll be taking off next week from the blog for Thanksgiving so look for the posts to continue on Monday, November 30! #1 - CONAN O'BRIEN DEPARTING LATE NIGHT AFTER 28 YEARS Late night's elder statesman, Conan O'Brien, is leaving the arena after 28 years with the end of the current season of Conan in June 2021. He hosted Late Night with Conan O'Brien from 1993-2009, had a very infamous short run on The Tonight Show from 2009-2010 and has hosted Conan on TBS since Fall 2010. He will continue to do the Conan Without Borders specials for TBS and host a weekly variety series for HBO Max. This is not surprising as there were rumors about Conan coming to an end a few years ago. While never a ratings king, O'Brien has been a fixture in late night for a very long time. I've never watched him regularly but I thought he handled the awkward Tonight Show debacle with such class and grace and it gave me a lot of ...

THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON TWO 1999-2000 26 episodes Season 2 of  That 70s Show  introduces several extended arcs that spin their wheels for a lot of the first half of the season. But in the second half of the season, the show really gets moving and has a super strong stretch. As a result, this season graded out as the highest rated one in my scores (by a slim margin) and that's almost entirely due to the second half. The stories that just feel stuck in neutral for the first half of the season finally lead to some excellent moments and character development in the second half. Season two also includes Lisa Robin Kelly as a series regular and introduces Tommy Chong as a recurring character. Starring Topher Grace as Eric Forman  (26 episodes) Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart  (26 episodes) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso  (26 episodes) Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde  (26 episodes) Laura Prepon as Donna Pinciotti  (26 episodes) Wilmer Valderrama as Fez  (26 ...

BLONDIE Programming Details: January 4, 1957 - July 5, 1957 26 episodes NBC Starring: Arthur Lake, Pamela Britton, Hal Peary, Florenz Ames, Ann Barnes, Stuffy Singer, Mary Lawrence, Lela Bliss Created by: Chic Young Plot: Blondie was the first of two attempts to bring the long running comic strip (and at the time, movie series) to TV. Blondie Bumstead (Britton) was a smart housewife who dealt with her bumbling husband, Dagwood (Lake) and children Cookie and Alexander (Barnes & Singer). Dagwood works for Mr. Dithers (Ames). Rounding out the main cast are the neighbors of the Bumsteads, the Woodleys (Peary & Lawrence) as well as Mr. Dither's wife, Cora (Bliss). 

Last week, I took a look at Thanksgiving Episodes from before 1995. This week is the Top 10 Thanksgiving Episodes (1995-present)! Close Calls: How I Met Your Mother "Belly Full of Turkey" The Goldbergs "A Goldberg Thanksgiving" Friends "The One where Ross Got High" 10. Everybody Loves Raymond "The Bird" (November 24, 2003) Towards the end of the run of Everybody Loves Raymond , the series got a nice jolt with the recurring appearances of Fred Willard and Georgia Engel as Amy's parents. The Thanksgiving episodes with the two warring families is one of their best appearances. It's chaos as you might expect and has a lot of funny moments. 9. The West Wing "Shibboleth" (November 22, 2000) This episode has a lot of plots in it that carry some weight and gravitas but the best part of the episode is the biggest throwaway story: CJ can't deal with the President pardoning only one turkey when she knows the other one is going to be ki...

Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1986-87 season! ABC 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep Our World The Colbys 20/20 Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Jack and Mike May ABC had a pretty quiet Thursday night lineup in 1986-87 as the night was bookended by newsmagazines. At 8pm was  Our World , a show focused on a specific period of history with archival footage and was hosted by Linda Ellerbee and Ray Gandolf. It had some critical acclaim but could struggled mightily to find in audience. In fact, it was the lowest rated show on TV of the shows that qualified for the end of year ratings. Not surprisingly, it was cancelled at the end of the season.  20/20  continued to air at 10pm. At 9pm was season two of  The Colbys . The  Dynasty  spinoff came probably a little too late because primetime ...

Here's a look at this week's Top 5 TV news stories! #1 - RIP ALEX TREBEK A legend in TV has passed away. Jeopardy host Alex Trebek died on Sunday at the age of 80 and after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. Trebek, who has been hosting the popular game show since 1984, was working on the show as recently as late October and his final episode is scheduled to air on Christmas. Trebek has been an icon who has seen his stature only rise in recent years. In January, a "Greatest of All Time Tournament" featuring Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer earned huge ratingsi n primetime for ABC. While it perhaps has been in the news more with events like that and Trebek's cancer battle,  Jeopardy  has been a fixture in people's homes for a very long time and part of the evening routine for millions. For people like me and younger, there has never been a time in our lives without Alex Trebek as the Jeopardy host. He will be very missed. I'm sure the ...

It's time to kick off a new episode guide! Over the next couple months, I will be looking at  That 70s Show  during my weekly Thursday episode guide! A reminder about my breakdown in ratings of episodes: 9-10: Exceptional 7-8: Strong 5-6: OK 3-4: Mediocre 1-2: Terrible THAT 70s SHOW: SEASON ONE 1998-1999 25 episodes That 70s Show  kicked off its run with a season that establishes its large ensemble cast very well. For a show with this many characters, it really does a nice job giving everyone their times in the spotlight throughout the run. This season did not grade out as the highest but it was certainly the one that was most in tune with its 70s setting. There are more 70s-themed storylines and more attention to the detail of its time period than any future season. Starring Topher Grace as Eric Forman  (25 episodes) Mila Kunis as Jackie Burkhart  (25 episodes) Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso  (25 episodes) Danny Masterson as Steven Hyde  (25 episodes...

WELCOME TO NEW YORK Programming Details: October 11, 2000 - January 17, 2001 13 episodes CBS Starring: Christine Baranski, Jim Gaffigan, Anthony DeSando, Mary Birdsong, and Sara Gilbert, with Rocky Carroll Created by: Barbara Wallace and Thomas R. Wolfe Plot: Marsha Bickner (Baranski) is a larger than life producer of a morning show in New York City, "AM New York." She welcomes new weatherman Jim Gaffigan (Gaffigan) from Indiana to the station which also includes anchor Adrian Spencer (Carroll), Jim's assistant Vince (DeSando) and Marsha's assistant, Amy (Gilbert).

Thanksgiving is coming up soon and since I will be taking a week off from posting during Thanksgiving Week, the Thanksgiving Episodes lists start this week with the Top 10 Thanksgiving Episodes (pre-1995) ! Close Calls: Happy Days "The First Thanksgiving" The Brady Bunch "The Un-Underground Movie" The Bob Newhart Show "An American Family" 10. Newhart "Don't Rain on My Parade" (November 21, 1983) Thanksgiving episodes have a little bit less of a bar to clear to get on the list than Halloween because there's less of them but Newhart still had a fun enough one to place #10 which centers on Dick inviting all the Thanksgiving parade workers to dinner at the inn without telling his wife. 9. That Girl "Thanksgiving Comes But Once a Year, Hopefully"  (November 23, 1967) Any episodes of  That Girl  than involve Ann's parents interacting with Ann and Donald are fun and this one is extra fun with Donald's parents involved. We'v...

Here's a look at Wednesdays in the 1986-87 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Perfect Strangers Head of the Class Dynasty Hotel Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Harry Apr Head of the Class Mariah May ABC revamped the first hour on Wednesday nights with a comedy hour. Though it only aired six episodes late in the spring of the previous season, Perfect Strangers did well enough to earn ABC's confidence that it could be a lead off show. It's a little surprising they picked  Strangers  instead of Growing Pains . Although it didn't do as well as it did on its brief Tuesday run, it did turn the lights on for ABC in a troubled slot. It was followed by Head of the Class , a new sitcom starring Howard Hesseman as a teacher of gifted students in Manhattan. The...

Here's a look at this week's Top 5 TV news stories! #1 - ELECTION NIGHT RATINGS It was a pretty quiet week for TV news with so much other news going on in the country. So the top story is the closest TV news can get to the election - the ratings! The Tuesday night election coverage was down 30% from 2016 election coverage across the broadcast and cable news networks. As usual, FOX News was on top as far as individual networks. This could be for a couple reasons. Perhaps people realized we weren't going to know on election night and turned it off (that was me, finally, at 12:30am). But the bigger reason is the main reason sports and everything else is down. People are just consuming TV differently. It affected scripted shows first but now even live events are being watched online. Maybe people were on YouTube getting news or any number of sites or apps. TV is being watched as much as it ever has been, if not more. But it's not being watched in the traditional way and tha...

Here is a summary of  Bewitched ! Next week we go forward in time with a look at That 70s Show but before that, here is a look at all eight seasons including the ultimate countdown of Bewitched 's best and worst episodes! BEWITCHED September 17, 1964 - March 25, 1972 254 episodes Starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens  (254 episodes) Dick York as Darrin Stephens,  Seasons 1-5  (156 episodes) Dick Sargent as Darrin Stephens,  Seasons 6-8  (84 episodes) Agnes Moorehead as Endora  (147 episodes) David White as Larry Tate  (166 episodes) Erin Murphy as Tabitha Stephens  (98 episodes) Alice Pearce as Gladys Kravitz,  Seasons 1-2  (27 episodes) Sandra Gould as Gladys Kravitz,  Seasons 3-7  (29 episodes) George Tobias as Abner Kravitz  (54 episodes) Irene Vernon as Louise Tate,  Seasons 1-2  (13 episodes) Kasey Rogers as Louise Tate,  Seasons 3-8  (33 episodes) Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara ...

CHARLIE GRACE Programming Details: September 14, 1995 - October 19, 1995 6 episodes ABC Starring: Mark Harmon, Cindy Katz, Leelee Sobieski and Robert Costanzo Created by: Robert Singer Plot: Charlie Grace (Harmon) is a former Los Angeles police officer who was kicked off the force for busting his fellow officers. Now divorced, he has opened a private investigation business while also taking care of his daughter, Jenny (Sobieski). Rounding out the main cast is lawyer Leslie Loeb (Katz) and a police officer who remains a rival, Artie Crawford (Costanzo).

With today being Election Day, this week's Top 10 is Top 10 TV Elected Officials ! Note, these are not the ten I would most like to have running my town or country. But I find them to be the most entertaining. Close Calls: Claire Underwood - House of Cards Mellie Grant - Scandal Tom Kirkland - Designated Survivor 10. Charles Logan (Gregory Itzin) -  24 Certainly not the most moral on this list, the season of 24 featuring Gregory Itzin as President Logan is its best crafted and most thrilling season. Itzin is just wonderful as the weasel-y and morally bankrupt president. 9. Robert "Bob" White (voice of Greg Lee) -  Doug Doug  had such a great population of townspeople and adults including their slimy mayor who was so obviously concerned about his image over everything else. I think an adult-themed spinoff based on him could be enjoyable.

 Here's a look at Tuesdays in the 1986-87 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Who’s the Boss? Growing Pains Moonlighting Jack and Mike Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Max Headroom May ABC had a killer Tuesday night lineup for the first two hours with all three of their shows back in the Top 10 and placing in the Top 10 of the ratings. Who's the Boss?  had quickly become a reliable and strong anchor while  Growing Pains  actually built on  Boss  for its second season. At 9pm was Moonlighting , which spent another year in the Top 10 but only produced 15 episodes. The show was notorious for being behind schedule and they often had to throw a repeat up at the last minute. Considering the average TV season is 35 weeks and the show aired in the slot the whol...