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...