Benjamonster's TV

Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - OSCAR RATINGS COLLAPSE Everyone saw it coming and there was no pleasant surprise. The Oscars were the latest awards show pandemic victim. The critically panned ceremony plunged 58% from last year to an all-time low and badly miscalculated the format itself with lots of critiques on the dullness of the night. They also made a very bad gamble that the late Chadwick Boseman would win Best Actor and decided to end the night with that award instead of Best Picture. Of course Boseman did not win and the winner was an absent Anthony Hopkins so the night ended with a thud. The ratings drop is not surprising. People are tired of pandemic awards shows and it was hard for the nominated movies to be a big draw with theaters closed a lot of the year. But they certainly didn't do themselves any favors with how the show was put together. I hope next year brings a more normal ceremony and better ratings.

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Five of  Parks and Recreation ! PARKS AND RECREATION: SEASON FIVE 2012-2013 22 episodes After a tremendous election arc throughout season four, Leslie settles into office in season five and this season also features a major wedding. There isn't as much of a focused arc in this season but it graded out every so slightly higher than season four thanks to more really strong episodes. By this point in its run, the characters have become so defined and strong that even mundane plots and B or C stories are enjoyable.  Starring Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope  (22 episodes) Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins  (21 episodes) Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford  (22 episodes) Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson  (22 episodes) Aubrey Plaza as April Ludgate  (22 episodes) Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer  (22 episodes) Rob Lowe as Chris Traeger  (22 episodes) Adam Scott as Ben W...

On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted one season or less. Today I am looking at 1990s flop Too Something (which became New York Daze ).  TOO SOMETHING (also known as NEW YORK DAZE) Programming Details: October 1, 1995 - June 23, 1996 9 episodes FOX Starring: Donal Lardner Ward, Eric Schaeffer, Lisa Gerstein, Portia de Rossi, Mindy Seeger Created by: Eric Schaeffer, Donal Lardner Ward & Efrem Seeger Plot: Aspiring photographer Donny Reeves (Ward) and aspiring author Eric McDougal (Schaeffer) are roommates in Manhattan who also work together in a mailroom for a large firm. The rest of the cast is friend Evelyn (Gerstein), dog walker Daisy (Seeger) and new co-worker Maria (Rossi).

Tuesdays are Top 10 Tuesdays where I count down a topic in the TV realm. This week is  Top 10 TV Weddings! Close Calls Hank & Sarah - Parenthood Cam & Mitch - Modern Family Dwight & Angela - The Office 10. Jeannie & Tony - I Dream of Jeannie The coupling of Jeannie and Tony may have been a "jump the shark" event for I Dream of Jeannie but their wedding itself is a pretty fun episode. The idea that Jeannie can't be photographed makes for a madcap wedding ceremony and it feels very sweet even if you know it means the show can't go on much longer. 9. Max & 99 - Get Smart Another madcap wedding, Max and 99 getting married was less of a death sentence on its show. It was very fitting that it was wrapped up in a mission and it leads to a truly hilarious sequence during the actual ceremony. 

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Mondays in the 1989-90 season! ABC 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep MacGyver Monday Night Football Oct Nov Dec Jan Monday Night Movie Feb Mar Apr China Beach Capital News May Monday Night Movie For most of the season, ABC had the same plan on Monday nights as they had for the previous three seasons:  MacGyver  at 8pm followed by  Monday Night Football  in the fall and Monday Night Movie in the spring. The Fall 1989 season was the first that used the famous Hank Williams Jr. song for an intro for  Monday Night Football . Late in the season, ABC made an attempt at a three hour drama lineup, getting rid of the movie.  MacGyver  continued to air at 8pm. The critically acclaimed  ...

Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "HOW I MET YOUR FATHER" COMING TO HULU The biggest new series news of the week came from Hulu where they handed a straight to series order to How I Met Your Father , a show with the same premise of (you guessed it) How I Met Your Mother . The new series stars Hillary Duff and counts the original creators among its executive producers. This has been a long gestating idea. As How I Met Your Mother was ending in 2014, there was a pilot for CBS called How I Met Your Dad starring Greta Gerwig. It was a surprising pass then (although the negative reaction to the original's finale probably didn't help) and the series has toiled around in development for years since. Now it will get a chance on Hulu. I'm mixed on this, I'm not sure we need to do this concept again when the original had so many wonderful things but its gimmick ultimately proved to be its downfall.

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Four of  Parks and Recreation ! PARKS AND RECREATION: SEASON FOUR 2011-2012 22 episodes The fourth season of  Parks and Recreation  is one of the most focused seasons in recent memory of any show as it has a through line and really sticks to it to great effect. Leslie runs for City Council and the series mines consistently funny plots and comedy from that season-long arc. It also features some terrific guest and recurring appearances. The series really fires on all cylinders at this point and I think many would rightly consider this the "sweet spot" of the  Parks and Recreation  run even though there's never a real dip in quality. Starring Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope  (22 episodes) Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins  (22 episodes) Aziz Ansari as Tom Haverford  (22 episodes) Nick Offerman as Ron Swanson  (22 episodes) Aubrey Plaza as April Lud...

On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted one season or less. Today I am looking at 1980s flop A Year in the Life ! A YEAR IN THE LIFE Programming Details: September 16, 1987 - April 13, 1988 22 episodes NBC Starring: Richard Kiley, Trey Ames, Adam Arkin, Jayne Atkinson, David Oliver, Sarah Jessica Parker, Amanda Peterson, Wendy Phillips, Morgan Stevens Created by: Joshua Brand & John Falsey Plot: Joe Gardner (Kiley) is a recent widower with four adult children: twice divorced Annie (Phillips), new mom Lindley (Atkinson), black sheep Jack (Stevens) and conservative Sam (Oliver). The rest of the main cast includes other family members like Sam's wife, Kay (Parker) and Lindley's husband, Jim (Arkin) and Anne's children, David and Sunny (Ames and Peterson). 

Tuesdays are Top 10 Tuesdays where I count down a topic in the TV realm. This week is  Top 10 TV Trips! Close Calls The Bradys go to the Grand Canyon - The Brady Bunch Jeannie & Tony go to Hawaii - I Dream of Jeannie The Pritchett-Dunphys go to Hawaii - Modern Family 10. The Friends go to Las Vegas - Friends The first of two Friends trips on this list, the trip to Vegas had a lot of funny moments and it very much had a Las Vegas feel with most of the action taking place inside Caesar's Palace. And of course it wouldn't be a Vegas episode without a quickie marriage though it came from a different couple than was expected. 9. The Ricardos and Mertzes go to Europe - I Love Lucy The first of two I Love Lucy trips on this list, this is always considered the "lesser" trip but there are still many great moments as the Ricardos and Mertzes make their way through several different countries. I just wish they had actually gone on location for filming.

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Sundays in the 1988-89 season! ABC 7:00 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep Various Programs Sunday Night Movie Oct Incredible Sunday Mission: Impossible Nov Dec Jan Feb Studio 5-B Mar Great Circuses of the World Various Programs Apr Moonlighting May Incredible Sunday Despite the Writer's Strike, ABC was able to get its full Sunday lineup going quickly thanks to a unique reason. They started the night with the unscripted  Incredible Sunday , a reboot of  That's Incredible , which ran from 1980-1984 and centered on people performing stunts related to paranormal events. The unique show in the lineup was a reboot of  Mission: Impossible  once again starring Peter Graves....

Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "BRIDGERTON" RENEWED FOR SEASONS 3 & 4 Netflix has renewed its smash hit Bridgerton for two more seasons. After its buzzy premiere on Christmas Day, it was renewed for a second season back in January. Now that production is underway on the second season, it has gotten two additional seasons which is impressive coming from Netflix, a streamer that keeps many shows to three seasons or less. There are eight books in the book series the show is based on so we'll see if the series can make it that far. This was more positive news for the show after the bombshell that Season 1 star Rege-Jean Page won't return for Season 2. Though he was never supposed to be a major part of the second series (his character is not a major player in the second book), it became an issue after Page was the breakout star of the first season. Even without Page, expect the second season to draw a ton of attention when it rolls arou...

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Three of  Parks and Recreation ! PARKS AND RECREATION: SEASON THREE 2011 16 episodes Season Three of  Parks and Recreation  did not premiere until midseason due in part to star Amy Poehler's pregnancy and in part due to NBC's programming decisions. Some of the season was filmed immediately after season two to accommodate hiding the pregnancy. This season finally has the cast in place with the permanent additions of Adam Scott and Rob Lowe and the departure of Paul Schneider. This is the first season where the show is consistently firing on all cylinders pretty much week after week. It never goes back to the problems of the first season or the occasional unevenness of the second season. The third season is when  Parks and Recreation  became a classic. Starring Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope  (16 episodes) Rashida Jones as Ann Perkins  (16 episodes) A...

On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted one season or less. Today I am looking at 1970s flop  The Betty White Show ! THE BETTY WHITE SHOW Programming Details: September 12, 1977 - January 9, 1978 14 episodes CBS Starring: Betty White, John Hillerman, Georgia Engel Created by: Ed. Weinberger and Stan Daniels Plot: Joyce Whitman (White) is an actress who lands a part on a cop show but finds out it's directed by her ex-husband, John Elliot (Hillerman). Joyce lives with her best friend and roommate, Mitzi (Engel).

Tuesdays are Top 10 Tuesdays where I count down a topic in the TV realm. This week is  Top 10 TV Musical Performances! Close Calls "I Am a Fine Musician" - The Dick Van Dyke Show "Steam Heat" - The Mary Tyler Moore Show "Time to Change" - The Brady Bunch 10. "Night After Night" - Laverne & Shirley Lenny & Squiggy are not great performers (of course) but this is a pretty funny performance on Laverne & Shirley where David L. Lander and Michael McKean just go for it. I also enjoy Squiggy's introduction that the song is about "two nights in a row." 9. "Lazy Scranton" - The Office The Office always did a great job with pop culture parodies and one of their most elaborate was the "Lazy Scranton" video that parodied Saturday Night Live' s "Lazy Sunday." It was obvious the cast had a great time doing it and pretty fun to watch.

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Saturdays in the 1988-89 season! ABC 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep Various Programs Saturday Night Movie Oct Nov Dec Murphy’s Law Jan Saturday Night Movie Murphy’s Law Feb Mission: Impossible A Man Called Hawk Mar Apr Men May A Man Called Hawk Saturday Night Movie ABC was starting from scratch on Saturday nights in 1988-89 as none of their shows that aired on the night in 1987-88 returned. It was a slow rollout thanks to, you guessed it, the Writer's Strike. Specials and movies occupied the night until December when  Murphy's Law  premiered. Starring George Segal as a former alcoholic turned insurance fraud investigator, it aired at 8pm for a short time and then 10pm b...