Benjamonster's TV

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Fridays in the 1992-93 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Family Matters Step by Step Dinosaurs Camp Wilder 20/20 Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Getting By Where I Live Apr May ABC's TGIF lineup on Fridays continued in the 1992-93 season and the 8pm hour continued to be stable while there was still trouble in the 9pm hour. Family Matters and Step by Step were a perfect pair with each other and produced nearly identical ratings.  Dinosaurs returned at 9pm after moving to Fridays at the end of the 1991-92 season. It continued to not be a big player in the ratings and it was such an odd show to try to schedule. After being pulled from Fridays, it made a brief appearance on S...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 -  RENEWALS OF THE WEEK It was a pretty quiet week for TV news with the biggest news being some renewals, some cancellations and some cast changes. Four comedies were renewed this week. Three of those were on CBS: The Neighborhood, Bob Hearts Abishola and freshman breakout Ghosts . The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola have been a solid Monday duo for a few years now while Ghosts has been a big success on Thursday nights with new audience highs being hit in recent weeks and plenty of critical acclaim for the very un-CBS comedy. These comedies join the already renewed Young Sheldon while United States of Al and B Positive are still waiting for a renewal. Also renewed was HBO comedy The Righteous Gemstones  for a third season. The second season of the underrated comedy is currently airing on Sunday nights.

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 4 (Part 2) of  Perfect Strangers ! For Part 1,  click here ! 63. Games People Play (2/3/89) Larry is asked to go on a game show for an assignment and Balki insists on being on the show with him but they argue about how to play it. I don't think any subset of people in history have appeared on game shows as often as sitcom characters. It's a trope  Perfect Strangers  hasn't done yet, so here it is! This is a pretty thin premise. At first, I thought it would be an excuse to get the two stars to do every stunt imaginable, but it doesn't actually take that route (at first) and has some funny moments between Balki and Larry. However, something I just can't stand about Mark Linn-Baker's portrayal of Larry is when he is "out of control" like he is in this episode when he gets into the game show. It rings so ve...

For my One Season Wonder this week, I'm taking a look at Delta ! DELTA September 15, 1992 - August 25, 1993 17 episodes ABC Starring: Delta Burke, Earl Holliman, Beth Grant, Nancy Giles, Bill Engvall and Gigi Rice Created by: Miriam Trogdon Plot: Delta Bishop (Burke) is an aspiring country singer who moves to Nashville after a divorce. She moves in with her cousin, Lavonne (Rice) and her husband, Buck (Engvall). She gets a job at the Green Lantern Bar, working for Darden Towe (Holliman) Brief Pilot Review: Delta Burke is definitely a comedic force. She was the breakout star of Designing Women thanks in part to her snappy line deliveries and larger than life presence. It's interesting to see her here as the center of a show because even as a breakout, she was still part of an ensemble with pretty even-sized roles on Women . What's especially interesting is that she seems to be lacking that bravado that was her hallmark. Although there are lots of elements that are very broad...

This week, my Top 10 is Top 10 Laverne & Shirley Characters ! 10. SONNY ST. JACQUES Laverne & Shirley wasn't a show with a ton of characters. In fact, I considered including a couple Happy Days characters who guested on the show to round on the list but that didn't seem true to the spirit of these Top 10 lists. So I went with Sonny St. Jacques, a decent but mostly inconsequential character from the later Hollywood years. Ed Marinaro was game for the role but he didn't really add much (or take away much) from the show. 9. RHONDA LEE Another Hollywood-era character, Rhonda Lee comes in just ahead of Sonny because she was a little bit better of a character who had funnier moments and more meaningful plots (some of the time). She was a nice contrast to the Midwest sensibility of Laverne and Shirley even if she was clearly trying to be the "Chrissy Snow" in an era where Three's Company was dominating the ratings.

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1992-93 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Delta Room for Two Homefront Primetime Live Oct Nov Dec Jan Matlock Jack’s Place Feb Mar Various Programs Apr May ABC had Primetime Live at 10pm but the 8pm and 9pm hours were a nut they just couldn't crack. They made a valiant effort in 1992-93 though as they brought Delta Burke back to TV with her self titled sitcom Delta . Burke had famously left Designing Women in 1991 after a flurry of controversy and press as she fought very publicly with the producers. Getting her to launch her own sitcom was a pretty big get at the time for ABC and they gave her the task of leading off Thursday nights after a preview after Rosea...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "BULL" ENDING AFTER SIX SEASONS It was a pretty quiet week for TV news as you'll see from the items making the list this week. One of the more notable stories was that CBS is ending Bull after six seasons this spring. It coincides with the end of star Michael Weatherly's contract but could also have just been a mutual decision after lots of behind the scenes issues with the show. Bull launched in 2016 to strong ratings and a ton of promotion as a new cornerstone for CBS's dramas following Weatherly's long run on NCIS . But it eventually became a show that CBS kept on the air despite objections from many after Weatherly was accused by guest star Eliza Dushku of inappropriate workplace behavior. Unlike many who have lost their jobs in the #MeToo era, Weatherly managed to hang on but the show became one that CBS kept around due to decent ratings and international sales while trying to not draw too m...

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 4 (Part 1) of  Perfect Strangers ! PERFECT STRANGERS: SEASON FOUR 1988-1989 22 episodes The fourth season of  Perfect Strangers  is a pretty solid season as it benefits from the changes that were made for the third season. Despite all the characters only showing up some of the time besides the two leads, the cast starts to gel more as an ensemble. This season also leans more into the comedy after a couple sappy installments in season three. This season didn't grade out to be the highest for me but it was clear that  Perfect Strangers  was starting to really get into a groove of being more sure of the show it wanted to be. Starring Bronson Pinchot as Balki Bartokomous  (22 episodes) Mark Linn-Baker as Larry Appleton  (22 episodes) Jo Marie Payton as Harriette Winslow  (18 episodes) Melanie Wilson as Jen...

HOMEROOM September 16, 1989 - December 17, 1989 10 episodes ABC Starring: Darryl Sivad, Penny Johnson, Bill Cobbs, Jahary Bennett, Trent Cameron, Yunoka Doyle, Billy Dee Willis Created by: Andrew Scheinman & Gary Gilbert Plot: Darryl Harper (Sivad) gives up his highly paid job to teach elementary school at an inner city New York City school. He and his wife, Virginia (Johnson) live in a brownstone owned by Virginia's father, Phil (Cobbs) which Phil also owns. Rounding out the main cast are the precocious students in Darryl's class. Brief Pilot Review: It's interesting to watch how sitcoms set themselves up frequently back in the 80s and 90s. Nowadays it seems like we always get major premise pilots. But back then, they basically got the premise out of the way in the conversation between three characters early episode. We know Darryl quit his job and is a teacher, we know Phil disapproves of that, etc. We didn't need to see all of those things happen, it was effectiv...

After a couple weeks of end of year and beginning of year lists, my Top 10 Tuesday is returning to characters from shows with the Top 10 The Good Wife Characters ! 10. JACKIE FLORRICK Peter's mother was the mother-in-law from hell and played with delight by Mary Beth Peil. I always liked her subtle and passive-aggressive approach towards Alicia as it was one of the many ways the show would venture into comedy. Any episode she was on was sure to have a couple strong moments and enlivened the home life of Alcia, which was not always one of the strongest parts of the series. 9. PETER FLORRICK It was tough to rank Peter Florrick in light of the recent news that his portrayer, Chris Noth, is a pretty bad guy. He may have slid down a couple notches on this list with the news so fresh but Peter Florrick was never one of my favorite characters on the show. He was always a side character and the story with him seemed to go round and round in circles. Perhaps he would have been a more effect...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Wednesdays in the 1992-93 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep The Wonder Years Doogie Howser M.D. Home Improvement Laurie Hill Civil Wars Oct Nov Various Programs Dec Coach Jan Going to Extremes Feb Various Programs Mar Sirens Apr Home Free May Various Programs Various Programs Wednesdays were all over the place for ABC in 1991-92 so they made a power play to change their Wednesday fortunes. They moved their hit freshman Home Improvement to the night and make it the anchor for Wednesday to match Roseanne on Tuesday. The move garnered a lot of attention in the Summer of 1992 including its head to head matchup with the...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - SAG/WGA AWARDS NOMINEES We are well into the awards season even though the typical kick-off (the Golden Globes) remains deeply mired in scandal (more on that below). This week, the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) and WGA (Writers Guild) announced their nominees. For SAG, the nominations were dominated by Succession and Ted Lasso , which is no surprise, but there was also a lot of love for Netflix phenom Squid Game and the messy second season of The Morning Show . There was also the first major nomination for Yellowstone , which is dominating in the ratings but has mostly been ignored by critics. It received a nomination for Best Drama Ensemble. There was also some love for freshmen like Only Murders in the Building and Hacks while The Kominsky Method inexplicably continued to take up some air with nominations for Comedy Ensemble and star Michael Douglas. The WGA had some more unique nominations with major nods for Loki, Yellowj...

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 3 (Part 2) of  Perfect Strangers ! For Part 1,  click here ! 39. The Break-In (12/9/87) Balki accidentally delivers the wrong story to Larry's publisher so they have to break in during the night to switch it and encounter a suicidal co-worker. This episode is packed with plot, which is quite a contrast to the previous episode. It takes awhile to get going though as the early scenes in the office are not anything special and we get some serious overacting from Mark Linn-Baker when he realizes the mistake that's been made. I'm glad the show handled the suicide scene with some humor instead of being heavy-handed as some 80s sitcoms were prone to do with serious topics (and  Perfect Strangers  was at time). I will admit that I actually had an audible chuckle at Balki's line at the end of the conversation about the window bei...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a series that lasted one season or less. Here is a look at 1993's Class of '96! CLASS OF '96 Programming Details: January 19, 1993 - May 25, 1993 17 episodes FOX Starring: Jason Gedrick, Megan Ward, Brandon Douglas, Perry Moore, Lisa Dean Ryan, Kari Wuhrer, Gale Hansen Created by  John Romano Plot: A drama that follows the lives of seven freshmen at the fictional Havenhurst College in New England. They come from very different backgrounds but are all friends. There is writer David (Gedrick) and his roommate Dexter (Hansen). There is the daughter of an actress, Patty (Ward) and roommates, the wealthy Jessica (Ryan) and beautiful Robin (Wuhrer). There is Whitney (Douglas), a wealthy boy following in his father's footsteps and his inner city roommate, Antonio (Moore). Brief Pilot Review: There was a lot I liked at the beginning and the end of this pilot (minus a pretty ridiculous voiceover to end the episode). But the middle got muddled and,...

Last week, I looked at my  Most Anticipated Returning Shows of 2022 . Today, I am looking at my Top 10 Most Anticipated New Shows of 2022 ! I will stress this is my personal list, not a list of the generally most anticipated shows or else shows like The Lord of the Rings, House of the Dragon and Halo would be on the list. But I am not personally interested in any of those shows so they are not on here. 10. THE WOMAN IN THE HOUSE ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE GIRL IN THE WINDOW (January 28, Netflix) This show would not have made my Top 10 list before the trailer dropped a week ago, but after seeing the trailer, I became very interested. The title is so long, it stretches past the point of being annoying and ventures into the absurd territory. But I really enjoy Kristen Bell and the trailer definitely gave me Flight Attendant vibes along with the obvious references to the classic Rear Window . I think this could be a fun and twisty mystery show and I'm a sucker for shows like that. 9. W...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Tuesdays in 1992-93 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Full House Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper Roseanne Coach Going to Extremes Oct Nov Dec The Jackie Thomas Show Jan Civil Wars Feb Mar Homefront Apr Delta May Various Programs ABC had made a big move on Tuesdays in 1991-92 when they brought Full House over from Fridays to lead off the night. That helped them launch the big hit Home Improvement . Their big move for 1992-93 was sending Home Improvement over to Wednesdays to get a Top 10 hit on another night. Full House , in its sixth season, was yet again used as a launching pad. The lead-out show this time was also a success but not as big as Impro...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - R.I.P. BETTY WHITE 2021 ended on a sad note with the news that Betty White passed away at the age of 99, just weeks away from her 100th birthday. It'll be hard to write anything about White that hasn't already been written but America's grandma has had an incredible career. From a pioneer in the early live TV days of the 1950s to a staple on game shows to her Emmy winning run on The Golden Girls to her renaissance in her late 80s and early 90s on Hot in Cleveland , Super Bowl commercials and, famously, hosting Saturday Night Live after a Facebook campaign. But my favorite turn from Betty White was as the delightfully tart Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show . She had an incredible way of delivering horribly nasty lines with a sugary sweet smile on her face. That iconic sitcom lost four cast members in 2021 and now none of the main cast is still with us. It's hard to get too sad when someone has a f...