Benjamonster's TV

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "SUCCESSION" RENEWED FOR SEASON 4 It was news that surprised no one but it was still news this week that FOX renewed Succession for a fourth season. The series, which has finally returned to the air after being off since Fall 2019, received a ton of buzz from critics and fans ahead of its October 17 season premiere. The 2020 Emmy winner for Outstanding Drama Series is considered a frontrunner again for the current season. It's rumored that this series won't go past five seasons but it's for sure going to get four. The third season has been great so far, at least the two episodes I have seen so far. I'm excited to continue watching Season 3 and then Season 4, which will hopefully not be another two years!

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show. This year, I will be splitting full seasons into two posts so today I am looking at the first half of Season 4 of  Get Smart ! Here's a look at  Part 1 ! 100. One Nation Invisible (12/28/68) Max is assigned to protect a beautiful scientist who invented an invisibility spray. He has to use the spray to get KAOS documents and also answer to 99. Similar to the "The Farkas Fracas," this episode does a nice job of blending the spy plot with Max and 99's newly married bliss though this one leans heavier on the spy side of things. Don Adams does a great job in this episode dealing with carrying the passed out and invisible scientist. It's a difficult bit of physical comedy that he manages well. He's also really funny in the scene when he thinks he is invisible. I think Barbara Feldon is not always a great actress especially when she's in distress, or in the case of this episode, angry/upset at Max. B...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at  The Famous Teddy Z ! THE FAMOUS TEDDY Z September 18, 1989 - May 12, 1990 15 episodes CBS Starring: Jon Cryer, Jane Sibbett, Milton Selzer, Erica Yohn, Tom La Grua, Josh Blake and Alex Rocco Created by: Hugh Wilson Plot: Theodore "Teddy" Zakalokis (Cryer) works in a mailroom at a Hollywood talent agency when a Marlon Brando-like Hollywood star (recurring guest Dennis Lipscomb) takes a liking to him and wants him to be his agent. This causes much chagrin with the other agents (Sibbett, Selzer, Yohn, Rocco & Blake). Brief Pilot Review: This pilot started with a brief direct introduction from Teddy himself explaining the story and it was sort of nice to get that much exposition out of the way in a couple seconds. Following a jazzy theme song, it jumps right into the plot instead of having to do complete exposition (though there is still plenty of that). Oddly, the pilot took place at ...

In honor of Halloween this weekend, my Top 10 Tuesday this week is Top 10 The Munsters/The Addams Family Characters. I'm not a big enough fan of either to do them separately but I thought it would work well to put them together! 10. UNCLE FESTER I find Uncle Fester annoying at times which is why he barely made it onto the list. But he's still a pretty memorable character and he's played to the hilt by Jackie Coogan in the series. Pretty much anyone who's played the character since is doing a Coogan impression. Coogan had an iconic look and voice for the role and really went all the way on the character. Maybe it's too much to expect him to be a more nuanced character but I just wish he was a little less annoying. 9. GRANDMAMA The eldest member of the Addams, Grandmama was a pretty crazy old lady. She was more of a background character in a lot of episodes but she was funny when she had the chance to shine. In most versions of The Addams Family , she is known as Gran...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Mondays in the 1991-92 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep MacGyver Monday Night Football Oct Nov Dec Jan FBI: The Untold Stories American Detective Monday Night Movie Feb Mar Apr May ABC started the 1991-92 season with the same Monday lineup it started with each season going back to 1986: MacGyver at 8pm and Monday Night Football at 9pm. However, MacGyver was in its seventh season and getting a little long in the tooth plus star Richard Dean Anderson expressed his desire to move on. The show had never been a huge ratings hit but had always been seen as a compatible partner for Monday Night Football . When Football ended for the season, ABC also pulled MacGyver and put it on hiatus. MacGyver did not r...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "Y: THE LAST MAN" CANCELLED AT FX There was a surprising piece of news that broke over the weekend. FX has cancelled Y: The Last Man after one season airing on FX on Hulu. Although the show received mixed reviews and hasn't garnered much buzz, this was surprising for a couple reasons. First of all, FX rarely cancels shows after just one season, especially as they are still airing. They have historically been patient with low-rated shows. Secondly, the road to the screen for Y: The Last Man lasted over a decade so it's shocking to see it come and go so quickly after how much time was invested in the development of the series. The numbers must have been truly terrible even though FX on Hulu, like all streaming services, is vague about actual numbers. The cast options were up and that had to do with the timing but FX would have given it a second season if they had any faith at all in it. The series is being...

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show. This year, I will be splitting full seasons into two posts so today I am looking at the first half of Season 4 of  Get Smart ! GET SMART: SEASON FOUR 1968-1969 26 episodes Season Four picks up right where Season Three left out and graded out exactly the same for me. It's another year of very strong episodes for the most part mixed in with some duds here and there. Most notably, the season takes a quick and serious advance in the Max and 99 relationship. While that sort of pairing can doom some shows, it actually seems provide  Get Smart  with a jolt of energy. The writing and performances are more consistent than they were early on in the show's run and the series continues to make great use of a wide variety of locales. Despite the improved quality in later seasons, the first two seasons were higher rated so this is the final season on NBC. It was cancelled at the end of the season and then picked up by CBS ...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at  Top of the Heap ! TOP OF THE HEAP April 7, 1991 - May 19, 1991 6 episodes FOX Starring: Joseph Bologna, Matt LeBlanc, Joey Adams and Rita Moreno Created by: Arthur Silver & Ron Leavitt Plot: Charlie Verducci (Bologna) and his son, Vinnie (LeBlanc) are living in Chicago and struggling financially. They scheme to try get into high society by taking a job at a country club run by Alixandra Stone (Moreno). Rounding out the main cast is a neighborhood girl, Mona (Adams), who has a crush on Vinnie. Brief Pilot Review: The first episode of Top of the Heap , which wasn't really a pilot since a backdoor pilot on Married... With Children , started with a pretty icky scene with 16 year old Mona coming onto the older Vinnie in a scene that was also peppered with some gross jokes. I never watched Married but I know that show's specialty was in your face humor that often veered into crassness. I...

This week for my Top 10 Tuesday, with Halloween nearing, I am counting down the Top 10 characters from Bewitched ! If you read my episode guides posts on Bewitched last year, you may have an idea how this is going to go! 10. LOUISE TATE There are several Bewitched characters who were played by two different actors over the course of the run. I had to specify for some characters listed below but the two different Louise Tates were both good enough to make the list, though I actually preferred the second actress (Kasey Rogers) to the first (Irene Vernon). They each brought something interesting though. Vernon was regal and sophisticated while Rogers was warm and a humanizing match for the often blustery Larry. 9. ABNER KRAVITZ Another long-suffering spouse on the show, Abner seemed like the reasonable one who was quite sure his wife was going crazy and it was easy to see why. The fact that she was right and he was wrong added to the humor of the show. His deadpan delivery was very funny ...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Sundays in the 1990-91 season! 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 found a monster success in 1989-90 on Sunday nights with midseason addition America's Funniest Home Videos hosted by Bob Saget. The show wasn't a flash in the pan either as it continued to be a big ratings winner in 1990-91. They doubled down on that success by adding another reality comedy show hosted by a Full House star. Saget's co-star Dave Coulier hosted America's Funniest People along with Arleen Sorkin. Whereas Videos was more about accidental mishaps caught on video, People featured everyday ...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - IATSE STRIKE NEARS The biggest TV news story of the week (besides the Netflix-Dave Chappelle debacle which is more TV-adjacent than actual TV news) concerns something that may or may not actually happen. For months we've been closing in on the possibility of a strike by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) which would shut down TV and film productions just over a year after the pandemic shut everything down. There's a deadline of Monday for a potential strike if a deal isn't reached but there were reports of progress being made. For months, I have believed they will figure out a deal when push came to shove but time is running short so we'll see what happens over the weekend. 

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show. This year, I will be splitting full seasons into two posts so today I am looking at the second half of Season 3 of  Get Smart ! For the first half,  click here . 74. The King Lives? (1/6/68) Max discovers he's a double for a King of a faraway country and has to go save 99 when she is kidnapped by the King's brother. This episode was co-written by Don Adams and his sister and continues the cameo parade with the return of Johnny Carson in another small role. It seems like an episode Adams would write with its focus on his brand of humor. The settings is fun and unique and the plot moves along fairly well. I didn't find myself too invested in the story but I appreciated it being a fairly ambitious episode. I do wonder what the story was behind all these cameos by comedians this season. RATING: 7/10 75. The Groovy Guru (1/13/68) Max and 99 try to thwart a hippie radio DJ planning to brainwash the nation's youth...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at All's Fair ! ALL'S FAIR September 20, 1976 - May 30, 1977 24 episodes CBS Starring: Richard Crenna, Bernadette Peters, J.A. Preston  Created by: Bob Schiller, Bob Weiskopf and Rod Parker Plot: Richard Barrington (Crenna) is a powerful conservative columnist in Washington D.C. who becomes romantically involved with a much younger and liberal photographer, Charley (Peters). Keeping Richard in line is his assistant, Allen (Preston).  Brief Pilot Review: This was one of TV comedy's first forays into politics in a very direct way with the series set in D.C. and dealing with real life figures (there's references to Nixon, Goldwater and many more in the pilot). It certainly had a sophisticated feel and went for the adult audience from the very beginning with Charley seeing Richard naked in the first couple minutes of the pilot. One thing I appreciated about the pilot is it really focused...

This week for my Top 10 Tuesday, I am counting down the Top 10 characters from the classic sitcom Taxi ! 10. JOHN BURNS John Burns disappeared from Taxi after the first season and few even noticed because he had not really made any impression. I almost considered not even putting him on the list but he just narrowly made it at #10 because I don't think he was a bad character, just an underdeveloped one. He had a few moments to shine (I particularly remember some funny moments during the Christmas episode when he's on the phone with his wife throughout the poker game). I think Taxi didn't need another likable straight man because Alex was that but he was harmless. 9. ZENA SHERMAN Before she made a splash on Cheers , Rhea Perlman played a very different character on Taxi . She wasn't as sharp tongued because she was dating the most sharp tongued character on the show. Zena was a decent character in her own right but he greatest purpose on the show was humanizing Louie. If...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Saturdays in the 1990-91 season! ABC 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep The Young Riders China Beach Various Programs Oct Twin Peaks Nov Dec Jan Under Cover Feb Mar Saturday Night Movie Apr May ABC's Saturday night lineup was full of shows that were niche or cult hits. That might seem like the perfect way to schedule a Saturday night in the early 1990s because it was a low pressure night but it did not go well enough in the ratings even for that. At 8pm was the third season of The Young Riders . It lasted the full year at 8pm but was cancelled at the end of the season. It did better than the two critically acclaimed shows that followed it through. China Beach continued to be a critical darling that could not find...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "L.A. LAW" PILOT ORDERED AT ABC It wasn't a super busy week for TV news but it wouldn't be a week without news of a reboot or revival. This week's news on that front is that a reboot of  L.A. Law earned a pilot order on ABC with original star Blair Underwood attached. The original L.A. Law series ran from 1986-1994 on NBC. The series, created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, was a critical darling and ratings smash early in its run, winning four Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series. But it was also known for going off the rails (or more specifically, down an elevator shaft) and later seasons were panned quite a bit. It also has never been much of a player in the syndication or streaming world so this is not a title that I think many have much of a connection to. If there's only middling interest in returns of shows like The Wonder Years or CSI , I am skeptical that there will be any intere...

On Thursdays, I take a detailed and critical look at a TV show. This year, I will be splitting full seasons into two posts so today I am looking at the first half of Season 3 of  Get Smart ! GET SMART: SEASON THREE 1967-1968 26 episodes The third season of  Get Smart  finally nabbed it the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy Award and it graded out as the best season yet for me. It may have not been as consistent as season two, but it had higher highs and perhaps lower lows (although not too low). Many of my all time favorite episodes come from this season. The show stretches itself a little more creatively in the third season and it's fun to see. It lands most of the time (not all the time) and I appreciate seeing the show become more ambitious in its storytelling and style. Starring Don Adams as Maxwell Smart  (26 episodes) Barbara Feldon as Agent 99  (25 episodes) Edward Platt as The Chief  (21 episodes) Robert Karvelas as Larabee  (12 episodes) Bernie K...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at  Free Spirit ! FREE SPIRIT September 22, 1989 - January 14, 1990 13 episodes ABC Starring: Corinne Bohrer, Franc Luz, Edan Gross, Alyson Hannigan, Paul Scherrer,  Created by: Leslie Ray and Steven A. Vail Plot: Thomas J. Harper (Luz) is a divorced lawyer trying to balance work and life with his three kids, Robb, Jessie and Gene (Scherrer, Hannigan & Gross). When Gene feels like no one in the house is paying attention to him, he accidentally summons a witch, Winnie (Bohrer) who becomes the housekeeper and caretaker.

This week for my Top 10 Tuesday, I am counting down the Top 10 characters from the Emmy winning hit Modern Family ! 10. FRANK DUNPHY It was inspired casting to bring the late, great Fred Willard on board as Phil Dunphy's father, Frank. Ty Burrell's dopiness as Phil really seemed like it could have been inspired by Willard's brand of comedy. Frank wasn't in a ton of episodes but he makes the list over some actual series regulars because he never stopped being funny and always elevated any scene he was in. It was one of Willard's final recurring roles and he was the most memorable of the many Modern Family characters who turned up once in awhile. 9. LUKE DUNPHY I struggled with what to do about Luke, Manny and Alex for this list. All three became so insufferable by the end of the series, I was left with a really bad taste in my mouth. But Luke ultimately made the list because he was the best as a young child and then the "least bad" among the three I mention...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Fridays in the 1990-91 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Full House Family Matters Perfect Strangers Going Places 20/20 Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Baby Talk Apr May Dinosaurs Family Matters Perfect Strangers ABC was coming off its first year with the TGIF moniker on Friday nights and they continued to work on the lineup. The first hour really started to take off in the ratings with Full House coming in at #15 for the season and Family Matters just one spot behind it. These two shows were really the reason that TGIF took off as a brand. For Family Matters , the addition of Urkel (Jaleel White) to the cast midway through its first season helped with its b...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "LAW & ORDER" GETTING REVIVED ON NBC Everything old is new again and nothing ever really goes away when it comes to Broadcast TV. In 2010, NBC famously cancelled Law & Order after 20 seasons, keeping it one season short of breaking the title of longest running drama series and leaving it tied with Gunsmoke . That record has since been broken by its spinoff, Law & Order: SVU but the original is coming back for a revival that NBC is calling a 21st season. No official word yet on which cast members will be returning but it's very clear the Law & Order brand is more valuable to NBC now in 2021 than it was in 2010. If you listened to TV chatter back in the early 2010s, there was the sense that the franchise was done with the original and Criminal Intent coming to an end, Los Angeles being a flop and SVU appearing to be on its last legs. But in recent years, SVU has shown new life and is now quietl...