BENJAMONSTER AWARDS 2021: A Look Ahead

For the second annual year, I will be presenting an extended end of season awards show. It will have some similarities to the Emmys in terms of categories and eligibility but will of course be completely based on my preferences and what I have watched. 

Here are the rules for eligibility:
- Shows had to have aired the majority of its season between June 1, 2020 and May 31, 2021.
- A show is considered eligible if I watched at least three episodes of it. Many of them I have watched the full season, but three episodes is the cutoff for eligibility.
- I am making my own calls for whether an actor/actress fits into a leading or supporting category but in general sticking with how they are submitted for the Emmys. Same for the different genres.
- A limited series is any series that was designed to be close-ended. An anthology series is any series that airs as an anthology either season to season OR episode to episode.
- For Guest Actor or Actress, they can appear in up to four episodes

There will be a new post for every day in the month of July, posting every morning at 7am EST. Here is the schedule to look forward to!

July 1 - The Limited/Anthology Series Nominees
July 2 - The Comedy Series Nominees
July 3 - The Drama Series Nominees

July 4 - Outstanding Technical Design of a Limited/Anthology Series
July 5 - Outstanding Technical Design of a Comedy Series
July 6 - Outstanding Technical Design of a Drama Series

July 7 - Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series
July 8 - Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Comedy Series
July 9 - Outstanding Guest Actor or Actress in a Drama Series

July 10 - Outstanding Writing of a Limited/Anthology Series
July 11 - Outstanding Writing of a Comedy Series
July 12 - Outstanding Writing of a Drama Series

July 13 - Outstanding Directing of a Limited/Anthology Series
July 14 - Outstanding Directing of a Comedy Series
July 15 - Outstanding Directing of a Drama Series

July 16 - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series
July 17 - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
July 18 - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

July 19 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series
July 20 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
July 21 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

July 22 - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series
July 23 - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
July 24 - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

July 25 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited/Anthology Series
July 26 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
July 27 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

July 28 - Outstanding Limited/Anthology Series
July 29 - Outstanding Comedy Series
July 30 - Outstanding Drama Series
July 31 - Recap

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 6/11/21

This is my final regular blog post of the season. I will be back in July for my second annual Benjamonster Awards with daily posts and then I will resume the weekday blog posts in September. Thanks for reading! I will be ending with a supersized Friday Five handicapping the lead acting races and series races for the Emmys!

#1 - OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

Thanks to COVID, there will be tons of turnover in most Emmy categories this year and then 2022 will likely be a mix of 2021 and 2020 nominees. The only comedy series nominee from last year that is eligible again this year is the final season of The Kominsky Method which could easily snag another nomination. A couple other former nominees are also eligible - Master of None, for its first season since 2017 and Black-ish, which was last nominated in 2018. There are likely to be a lot of new shows in the mix. Most notable of course is frontrunner Ted Lasso, which seems to be a lock. The Flight Attendant has underperformed in other awards but still seems likely to score a nomination. Hacks has been making a late push and could get in as well while Girls5Eva has a longer shot but still a shot. There's also some returning series looking for their first nomination. PEN15 received a writing nomination for its first season and seems poised to make the leap to series for its second. Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist could get in but its recent cancellation really hurts its chances. After its move to Netflix, Cobra Kai had its profile raised and could get in despite not being the type of show that often gets Emmy nominations. Then there's the longer shots that could surprise. That includes the second season of Dickinson, the new Made for Love or two broadcast shows with final seasons: Mom and Superstore. After the mockery the Globes got for nominating Emily in Paris, an Emmy nomination seems unlikely but you never know.

Current Predictions: Black-ish, Girls5Eva, The Flight Attendant, Hacks, The Kominsky Method, Master of None, PEN15, Ted Lasso

EPISODE GUIDES: A Recap of F Troop

Here is a look at both seasons of F Troop including the ultimate countdown of the best and worst episodes!

F TROOP

September 14, 1965 - April 6, 1967
65 episodes

Starring

Forrest Tucker as Sergeant Morgan Sylvester O'Rourke (65 episodes)
Larry Storch as Corporal Randolph Agarn (65 episodes)
Ken Berry as Captain Wilton Parmenter (65 episodes)
Melody Patterson as Wrangler Jane (65 episodes)
Frank de Kova as Chief Wild Eagle (63 episodes)

James Hampton as Private Hannibal Shirley Dobbs (65 episodes)
Bob Steele as Trooper Duffy (63 episodes)
Don Diamond as Crazy Cat (49 episodes)
Joe Brooks as Trooper Vanderbilt (47 episodes)

ONE SEASON WONDERS: Accidentally on Purpose

On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted one season or less. Today I am looking at 2000s flop Accidentally on Purpose!

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE

Programming Details:

September 21, 2009 - April 21, 2010

18 episodes

CBS

Starring: Jenna Elfman, Jon Foster, Ashley Jensen, Lennon Parham, Nicolas Wright and Grant Show

Created by: Claudia Lonow

Plot: Billie (Elfman) is a San Francisco movie critic who has a one night stand with a younger man and aspiring chef, Zack (Foster) and ends up pregnant. While dealing with her pregnancy and new complicated relationship, she also has to deal with ex-boyfriend and boss James (Show). Rounding out the main cast are Billie's friend Olivia (Jensen), Billie's sister Abby (Parham) and Zack's friend Davis (Wright).

TOP 10 TUESDAY: Top 10 Sitcom Series Finales

Tuesdays are Top 10 Tuesdays where I count down a topic in the TV realm. This week is Top 10 Sitcom Series Finales!

Close Calls

The Wonder Years "Independence Day"

That 70s Show "That 70s Finale"

Superstore "All Sales Final"

10. Happy Days "Passages" (May 8, 1984)

The finale to Happy Days was very sweet. It was an 80s version of a series finale complete with a montage at the end but it also gave happy endings to all the main characters who had grown and changed so much during the 11 year run of the show. And Ron Howard was back, as he needed to be.

9. The Good Place "Whenever You're Ready" (January 30, 2020)

The finale of The Good Place was a fitting end for a very unusual show that dealt with much bigger existential topics than most network sitcoms do. It was an uneven run for the show overall but the finale answered some of the questions about life it had been answering and left others open-ended.

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1989-1990 Sundays

This is the final regular week on my blog for the "season." I will return with my Benjamonster Awards in July and then be back to the regular rotation of posts including Schedules of the Past in September. In the meantime, here's a look at Sundays in the 1989-90 season!

ABC	7:00	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	Life Goes On	Free Spirit	Homeroom	Sunday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan		America’s Funniest Home Videos	Various Programs
Feb			Elvis
Mar
Apr			Various Programs
May

For the Fall of 1989, ABC kept their Sunday Night Movie but completely revamped the first two hours of the night with three new shows. At 7pm was Life Goes On, a family drama starring Bill Smitrovich, Patti LuPone and Kellie Martin. The series was notable for featuring an actor with Down Syndrome (Chris Burke) playing a character with Down Syndrome. The series received critical acclaim and while the ratings weren't amazing, it did pretty well for the difficult Sunday 7pm slot and was an easy renewal for season two. At 8pm was a comedy block with two new comedies. Free Spirit was a fantasy sitcom about a witch who moves in with a divorced father of three. The series, which featured a young Alyson Hannigan, was critically trashed and cancelled in January. At 8:30pm was Homeroom, a sitcom about a fourth grade teacher in an inner city school. Although the series received better reviews than Free Spirit, it was also gone in January. While ABC's comedy hour didn't work in the fall, they struck gold in January with the launch of America's Funniest Home Videos. After airing as a special in November 1989, the Bob Saget hosted series became a weekly series in January. While it's known now as a sort of average performing staple, it was a breakout hit in 1990 and vaulted into the Top 5 in the ratings. In February, ABC had a very different show leading out of their breakout hit. Elvis was a dramedy about the young years of Elvis Presley starring Michael St. Gerard, who had made a career out of Elvis impressions. It didn't even last two months on the night before it was yanked in favor of various shows and specials airing in the slot for the rest of the season.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 6/4/21

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! This week and next week will be super-sized and Emmys focused. Next week is the final week of regular posts on my blog until September. I'll be doing my own Benjamonster Awards through the month of July but here's a handicapping of the Emmy races and my current predictions (note these are PREDICTIONS, not my personal votes. That will come during my July Awards!) This week will focus on the supporting categories for comedy, drama and limited series. Next week will look at the lead performances and the series 

#1 - OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

This category is a bit of a mess and the question is how many Saturday Night Live actors will get in? Kenan Thompson seems like a safe bet to return and both Bowen Yang and Pete Davidson have a shot as well. None of last year's nominees besides Thompson are eligible so there will be many new faces. If there's major love for Ted Lasso, then there's good-to-decent chances for Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt and Jeremy Swift (in that order). Likewise, if The Flight Attendant comes up big then Michael Huisman and T.R. Knight could both get in but my money's on just Huisman. Alex Newell seemed to cause more waves last year on Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist and didn't get in, but the competition is lighter this year. Ray Romano is a well known name but Made for Love doesn't have a ton of buzz. Ditto for Paul Reiser from The Kominsky Method. A dark horse could be Nico Santos for Superstore's final season while Laurence Fishburne could certainly get in for Black-ish for the first time.

Current Predictions: Pete Davidson, Laurence Fishburne, Brett Goldstein, Michael Huisman, Brendan Hunt, Ray Romano, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang

EPISODE GUIDES: F Troop Season Two

On Thursdays, I go through classic series with a critical look at each season. Today I am looking at Season Two (the final season) of F Troop!

F TROOP: SEASON TWO
1966-1967
31 episodes

The second and final season of F Troop transitions to glorious color and definitely picks it up on the comedy. While there are still some clunkers, most of the best episodes of the series come from this season, not from season one. The show dipped a little more into the surreal and satirical and I have to think it would have headed even more in that direction if it had continued longer. But it became one of those "two and done" shows of the 60s just like fellow classics The Munsters and The Addams Family.

Starring
Forrest Tucker as Sergeant Morgan Sylvester O'Rourke (31 episodes)
Larry Storch as Corporal Randolph Agarn (31 episodes)
Ken Berry as Captain Wilton Parmenter (31 episodes)
Melody Patterson as Wrangler Jane (31 episodes)
Frank de Kova as Chief Wild Eagle (31 episodes)

James Hampton as Private Hannibal Shirley Dobbs (31 episodes)
Don Diamond as Crazy Cat (31 episodes)
Bob Steele as Trooper Duffy (30 episodes)
Joe Brooks as Trooper Vanderbilt (20 episodes)

35. The Singing Mountie (9/8/66)
A Canadian mountie arrives at F Troop looking for Agarn's French Canadian cousin who is accused of stealing fur.

It really is a treat to see F Troop in color. The show just pops so much more. For some shows like The Andy Griffith Show, it didn't matter much. For some of these more farcical shows like this, I Dream of Jeannie, and Gilligan's Island, it makes a big difference. I think that probably would have been true for The Munsters and The Addams Family too if they had run long enough. This season starts strong on a creative note too with Paul Lynde bringing his signature ridiculous nature in a guest starring role. Whoever had the idea to have Lynde play a singing Canadian mountie deserved a raise. There's a decent twist to the story too. All in all, a very strong start for F Troop's season in color.
RATING: 8.5/10

36. How to be F Troop Without Really Trying (9/15/66)
Everyone in F Troop is set to be transferred except for Agarn who must stay and train the new troops.

This is a fun plot that is executed pretty well even with some silly moments mixed in. The dual plots of Agarn training the new troops and everyone else trying to get the decision overturned means a lot is happening in the episode and that is always a better situation for F Troop. I like that this episode plays up the Wrangler Jane/Parmenter relationship but I do wish the show didn't resort so often to Parmenter just being a stumbling idiot. Less is more when it comes to those sight gags.
RATING: 6.5/10

ONE SEASON WONDERS: The Monroes

On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted one season or less. Today I am looking at 1990s flop The Monroes!

THE MONROES

Programming Details:
September 12, 1995 - October 19, 1995
6 episodes
ABC

Starring: William Devane, Susan Sullivan, David Andrews, Steven Eckholdt, Cecil Hoffmann, Darryl Theirse, Tracy Griffith, Tristan Tait, Lynn Clark
Created by: Rick Kellard

Plot: A primetime soap centered on a very ambitious and powerful political family. John Monroe (Devane) is a power broker running for Governor of Maryland. The rest of his family includes supportive wife Kathryn (Sullivan), Congressman son (Andrews), attorney daughter Greer (Hoffman), former astronaut son Steven (Eckholdt), and photographer daughter Ruby (Griffith).

TOP 10 TUESDAY: Top 10 Drama Series Finales

Tuesdays are Top 10 Tuesdays where I count down a topic in the TV realm. This week is Top 10 Drama Series Finales! I will preface this by saying there's a few iconic drama finales like Breaking Bad and Six Feet Under that I have never seen so this is based purely on shows I have seen.

Close Calls

American Dreams "It's My Life"

The Fugitive "The Judgment"

The Good Wife "End"

10. St. Elsewhere "The Last One" (May 25, 1988)

A very famous finale before many shows had big finales, this one was also quite divisive as the idea that (spoiler) the whole series could have been from the mind of a boy with autism was very unexpected. I think it was a whimsical end for a show that had so many moments of whimsy.

9. Timeless "The Miracle of Christmas" (December 20, 2018)

I was a sucker for Timeless in its short two season run even though I knew it was just mindless fun. I'm so glad it got a chance to have a proper finale after it escaped death to get a second season. The final movie-length episode that aired months after the second season tied up loose ends and also had a haunting rendition of "Time After Time" playing over the final montage.