Benjamonster's TV

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! The blog is taking a two week holiday break so I will return with posts on Monday, January 3! #1 - JEFF GARLIN OUT AT "THE GOLDBERGS" In a story that has been brewing for awhile, Jeff Garlin is out at The Goldbergs following HR investigations. A very revealing interview between Garlin and reporter Maureen Ryan a few weeks back shed some light on some on-going issues on the set of The Goldbergs . Garlin didn't necessarily deny much of it but attempted (poorly) to explain and rationalize it. He also implied he wouldn't return to the show even if it was renewed. But now he has departed the series entirely that is being termed "mutual" though it seems like his hand was forced a little bit. He had one day left of filming but they will use some editing magic to make it work. The Goldbergs was originally slated for 18 episodes this season but after Garlin's departure, they upped it to 22 so it remains ...

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show. This year, I will be splitting full seasons into two posts. Here's a look at Season 2 (Part 2) of  Perfect Strangers ! For Part 1,  click here 17. A Christmas Story (12/17/86) At Christmas time, Balki and Larry get snowed in in Chicago and can't go see their family. The first Christmas episode is a pretty standard sitcom episode but I'm a sucker for snowed in episodes (it's one of those tropes I love even though I acknowledge it's a trope). That being said, Larry is kind of a pain during the first half of the episode. I know that's the point but ugh, sometimes he's just plain annoying and not in a lovable way. Overall though, this is a sweet episode that veers a little sappy sometimes but that's ok, it's a Christmas episode. And one in the 1980s at that. RATING: 7/10 18. Dog Gone Blues (1/7/87) Balki brings home a dog and they try to keep Mr. Twinkacetti from finding out about him. I hav...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at  Rachel Gunn, R.N. ! RACHEL GUNN, R.N. June 28, 1992 - September 4, 1992 10 episodes FOX Starring: Christine Ebersole, Kevin Conroy, Megan Mullally, Bryan Brightcloud, Lois Foraker, Dan Tullis Jr., Kathleen Mitchell Created by: Katherine Green Plot: Rachel Gunn (Ebersole) is a nurse working at a Nebraska hospital with surgeon, Dr. Dunkle (Conroy) and others. Her co-workers are also her friends, including Becky Jo (Mullally), Jeanette (Foraker) and a nun, Sister Joan (Mitchell). Brief Pilot Review: Before we even see Christine Ebersole (greeted with applause by the audience), we get an icky joke about Bryan Brightcloud's married character wanted to ask out a hot nurse. There were then two more sex jokes before the show hit the two minute mark and then more talk about the hot nurse so that tells you how this show started. More sexist jokes followed too with Kevin Conroy's character coming a...

Before the blog heads on a break next week, my Top 10 this week is Top 10 Episodes of 2021! Close Calls This is Us "One Small Step" (3/23/21) Modern Love "On A Serpentine Road, with the Top Down" (8/13/21) Brooklyn Nine-Nine "The Last Day" (9/16/21) 10. WandaVision "Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience" (1/15/21) As I've probably stated before on the blog, I am not a Marvel fan. But I was willing to cast that aside for WandaVision because of its homage to classic TV. And while I was mostly uninterested in the mythology, I absolutely loved each classic sitcom that it paid tribute to. Perhaps the most impressive visually though was the first episode, a clear tribute to The Dick Van Dyke Show and actually filmed (pre-pandemic) in front of a live studio audience as the title of the episode says. It wasn't even a parody, the episode was played straight as a 60s sitcom save for a couple odd moments and its commitment to the form was pretty impr...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Saturdays in the 1991-92 season! After this week, I will be taking a two week break from the blog for the holidays! ABC 7:00 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Life Goes On America’s Funniest Home Videos America’s Funniest People Sunday Night Movie Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May ABC had no changes to its Sunday lineup for 1991-92. Life Goes On continued at 7pm despite middling ratings. It made news for having an HIV Positive character on the show at a time when that topic was still quite taboo. The comedy videos duo of America's Funniest Home Videos and America's Funniest People continued at 8pm. They weren't the breakout Top 10 hits they started as, but they were still strong performers for the alp...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV News stories of the week! #1 - FX DROPS FX ON HULU MONIKER FX announced this week that it will drop the phrase "FX on Hulu" and all programming will have the FX brand name. That includes shows on FX proper like American Crime Story and What We Do in the Shadows  and shows exclusive to Hulu like Reservation Dogs as well as FXX shows. When the FX on Hulu brand launched with shows like Mrs. America , it was to differentiate FX titles that were original only on Hulu. But FX seems to have realized that the brand matters the most even if it's in a myriad of locations. This comes after a high profile show ( Impeachment: American Crime Story ) couldn't break through since it was only airing on FX proper and couldn't come to Hulu because of Ryan Murphy's Netflix deal (it will arrive on the latter streamer in 2022). I'm not sure this will be any less frustrating for people who try to find all FX things in one place but FX is a brand...

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show. This year, I will be splitting full seasons into two posts. Here's a look at Season 2 (Part 1) of Perfect Strangers ! PERFECT STRANGERS: SEASON TWO 1986-1987 22 episodes Season Two is the first full season of  Perfect Strangers  after its abbreviated first season. It continues on with most of the same setups as Season One with the notable additions of Melanie Wilson and Rebecca Arthur to the cast though they are not utilized all that well in their first season on the show. As I mentioned in my Season One entry, this is my first time watching through  Perfect Strangers  so some of what you're reading are my first impressions without knowing much about how the show evolves aside from general knowledge. Starring Bronson Pinchot as Balki Bartokomous  (22 episodes) Mark Linn-Baker as Larry Appleton  (22 episodes) Ernie Sabella as Donald Twinkacetti  (15 episodes) Melanie Wilson as Jennifer Lyon...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at Capitol Critters ! CAPITOL CRITTERS January 28, 1992 - March 14, 1992 ABC 7 episodes Starring: Neil Patrick Harris, Charlie Adler, Patti Deutsch, Jennifer Darling, Dorian Harewood, Bobcat Goldthwait, Frank Welker Created by: Nat Mauldin and Steven Bochco & Michael Wagner Plot: An animated series about a young mouse, Max (Harris) who moves to Washington D.C. after his family is killed by exterminators. He lives with his cousin, Berkeley (Darling) who lives in the White House with a rat, Jammett (Adler) and his mother, Trixie (Deutsch) among others while avoiding the Presidential cats (Welker). Brief Pilot Review: For being an animated sitcom, this one started very dark. We saw a sweet family scene and within a minute or two, almost the entire family was being gassed to death by exterminators. It certainly didn't put the series on a happy footing and I really don't understand why they f...

For my Top 10 this week, I am counting down my Top 10 I Love Lucy Characters - one of TV's all time classics but not one with a ton of characters. 10. CAROLYN APPLEBY Carolyn Appleby was only in ten episodes (once as Lillian Appleby) but it felt like more because she was referred to often by Lucy. She was a pretty typical busybody and was at her best when she was competing with Lucy for one reason or another (such as who had the better baby pictures). She created a different dynamic as a female contemporary to Lucy as even Ethel was a little bit older. 9. MRS. MCGUILLICUDY Lucy's mother accompanied the Ricardos and Mertzes to Hollywood and she was just an unbearable as you might imagine. But she provided a lot of funny moments for Lucy and Ricky, and she played the annoying role very effectively. It shouldn't be a surprise that an older version of Lucy would be even more of a loose cannon and the show had fun with that though I wish they explored a little more of her relati...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Saturdays in the 1991-92 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Who’s the Boss? Growing Pains The Young Riders The Commish Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Capitol Critters Who’s the Boss? Perfect Strangers Growing Pains Mar Who’s the Boss? Billy Apr May Saturday Night Movie ABC tried something different on Saturday nights by bringing two of their long running and successful sitcoms over to the night. Who's the Boss (in its eighth season) and Growing Pains (in its seventh season) were brought over from the middle of the week to try to kickstart Saturday nights. Although they were getting up there in years, the two shows tried to help with the mov...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - CHRIS CUOMO SUSPENDED AT CNN It's a story that just won't die. CNN announced this week that it has suspended Chris Cuomo "indefinitely" for his role in helping his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, fight his cascading scandals that led to his resignation this past summer. Chris Cuomo had already come under fire and apologized for the same issue but documents released Monday showed that the younger brother had been more involved than CNN realized and may have used his position and connections to aid his brother's defense. This feels like a story that will end with Chris Cuomo leaving the network but it hasn't happened yet. While the anti-Cuomo crowd has been quick to attack Chris, he has also had most former supporters coming after him as well so it seems like he will follow his brother out of the public spotlight for now but time will tell.

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show. This year, I will be splitting full seasons into two posts. Today I am looking at the short first season of Perfect Strangers ! PERFECT STRANGERS: SEASON ONE 1986 6 episodes Perfect Strangers  was rushed to the air for a midseason premiere and has a short, six episode run to kick things off. The series gets into its groove pretty quickly with many of the catchphrases and dynamics in place during this early run of episodes. The most notable thing missing is Jennifer and Mary Anne as the series thought Ernie Sabella and Lise Cutter would round out their main cast and neither one lasted long. It's worth noting here that  Perfect Strangers  is a show I had not watched prior to this episode guide, unlike many other shows I have done on this blog. Starring Bronson Pinchot as Balki Bartokomous  (6 episodes) Mark Linn-Baker as Larry Appleton  (6 episodes) Ernie Sabella as Donald Twinkacetti  (6 episode...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at Princesses ! PRINCESSES September 27, 1991 - October 25, 1991 5 episodes CBS Starring: Julie Hagerty, Fran Drescher and Twiggy Larson Created by: Barry Kemp & Mark Ganzel & Robin Schiff Plot: Three single roommates in New York City from three very different backgrounds go through life's ups and downs. Tracy (Hagerty) has just dumped her fiance. Melissa (Drescher) is a brash cosmetics saleswoman and the newly arrived Georgy (Larson) is a recently widowed English princess. Brief Pilot Review: My first thoughts watching this pilot was its Fran Drescher without her iconic voice! It's a little bit jarring but this was a couple years before The Nanny and I think Drescher has exaggerated her voice ever since. This pilot was a pretty premise-heavy pilot and the first episode had a lot of plot to get through before it could become the show it was planning to be. I'm torn on if it was a...

For my Top 10 Tuesday this week, I am counting down the Top 10 Mom Characters ! 10. ALVIN BILETNIKOFF I think Alvin may have ranked higher on my list if I didn't end up liking Bonnie's next beau even better. Alvin was an interesting character who had both funny and sad moments in a nuanced portrayal by Kevin Pollak. His relationship with both Christy and Bonnie was great for character development and his (spoiler) death provided a really great character arc for Bonnie.  9. TAMMY DIFFENDORF I was not a fan of Tammy at all when she burst onto the scene in Season 5. I thought Kristen Johnson was doing a way too broad portrayal. But over time as Tammy integrated into the group of friends, she became much more tolerable. Never one of my favorites but one who provided some good dynamics in the group of friends and she was a way better character by the end.

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Fridays in the 1991-92 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Family Matters Step by Step Perfect Strangers Baby Talk 20/20 Oct Nov Dec Jan Baby Talk Perfect Strangers Feb Billy Mar Apr Dinosaurs Baby Talk May ABC's hit TGIF lineup had a big change for 1991-92 as Full House left the night after four seasons and headed over to Tuesdays. One of the reasons ABC was able to do that was the breakout success of Family Matters , which was entering its third year. Matters took over the 8pm slot and was not as powerful as Full House was in the slot but it proved to be a reliable lead-off for ABC's kid friendly block. It was followed by a new famil...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week! A couple of these are from last Friday after the blog post went up, which was a busy news day. After this post, I will be taking a one week break due to Thanksgiving and blog posts will resume November 29! #1 - DISNEY+ DAY Disney+ offered up its annual "Disney Day" last Friday and the news was fast and furious about things coming to the streamer. There were also lots of first looks and trailers but no specific premiere dates though we did get some premiere months. Here's a few of the most notable announcements from the day: There will be a WandaVision spinoff series focused on Kathryn Hahn's breakout character called Agatha: House of Harkness . As someone who's not a Marvel fan but liked WandaVision  and especially Hahn, consider me intrigued. There will also be a spinoff of the upcoming Hawkeye series called Echo . There will also be an animated series titled Spider-Man: Freshman Year , a different look ...

Here is a look at all five seasons of Get Smart including the ultimate countdown of the best and worst episodes! GET SMART September 18, 1965 - May 15, 1970 138 episodes Starring Don Adams as Maxwell Smart  (138 episodes) Barbara Feldon as Agent 99  (131 episodes) Edward Platt as The Chief  (129 episodes) Robert Karvelas as Larabee  (83 episodes) Bernie Kopell as Siegfried  (14 episodes) David Ketchum as Agent 13  (13 episodes) Stacy Keach as Professor Carlson  (10 episodes) King Moody as Shtarker  (8 episodes) Milton Selzer as Parker  (7 episodes) Dick Gautier as Hymie the Robot  (6 episodes) Victor French as Agent 44  (6 episodes)

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at  Good & Evil ! GOOD & EVIL September 25, 1991 - October 30, 1991 6 episodes ABC Starring: Teri Garr, Margaret Whitton, Mark Blankfield, Lane Davies, Mary Gillis, Seth Green, Sherman Howard, Marian Seldes, Brooke Theiss, Marius Weyers Created by: Susan Harris Plot: This very odd satire focuses on two sisters, one "good" and one "evil." Denise (Garr) is the evil one and the CEO of the family's cosmetics empire while the good one is Genny (Whitton), a world class scientist. Their mother, Charlotte (Seldes) was still a force in the family empire as well. The rest of the cast includes family, friends and subordinates of the two sisters. Brief Pilot Review: This pilot started with a very bizarre and off-putting scene with hikers finding Denise's husband (Weyers) after he fell off Everest. We then meet Denise herself and the extent that this pilot worked at all was du...

For my Top 10 Tuesday this week, I am counting down Top 10 Everybody Loves Raymond Characters! 10. HANK MCDOUGALL The late, great Fred Willard was always good for some laughs and his Hank McDougall character was a great recurring addition to the cast in the later years of the show. The show sort of let Willard do his thing as his character was aloof at times and joyously judgmental of some of the behavior of the Barones and others. 9. JUDY POTTER I sometimes find Sherri Shepherd annoying but one of her earlier roles was one of her funniest. She only appeared in nine episodes as Robert's patrol partner but she was really funny in those nine episodes. She didn't put up with Robert's nonsense and she had a matter of fact delivery over the less matter of fact Barones. She made Robert's scenes better.

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1991-92 season! After this week, I will be taking a one week break for Thanksgiving! ABC 8:00 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Pros and Cons FBI: The Untold Stories American Detective Primetime Live Oct Nov Dec Jan Thursday Night Movie Feb Mar Apr May ABC had some small revamps for Thursday nights in 1990-91. The first hour was given to Pros and Cons , which was a revamped version of the drama Gabriel's Fire from the previous season. Despite an Emmy win for star James Earl Jones, Gabriel's struggled to find an audience and the network wanted the show to be more lighthearted as part of a network-wide initiative to get rid of more serious dramas. The revamped version was even less successful ...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - BRIAN WILLIAMS LEAVING NBC NEWS Brian Williams announced this week that he is leaving MSNBC and NBC News at the end of the year following nearly three decades with the company. Williams' contract was up and while he says he wants to spend more time with family, it also seems like an agreement for a contract extension could not be reached. The newsman hosted NBC Nightly News from 2004-2015 until a scandal forced him into a six month exile. The scandal seems pretty small these days compared to more recent falls from grace as it simply had to do with exaggerating a story about his own experience covering the Iraq War in 2003. Williams re-emerged on MSNBC and has hosted the 11pm show The 11th Hour since September 2016. Williams always seemed to like to dabble in the entertainment side of NBC as well, even hosting Saturday Night Live at one point. Some of those moves led to some criticism but I always enjoyed Williams'...