Benjamonster's TV

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Tuesdays in the 1993-94 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Full House Phenom Roseanne Coach NYPD Blue Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May ABC Tuesdays continued to be their crown jewel night, but they had some troubles at 9:30pm and 10pm the previous season and things cleaned up quite a bit in those slots in 1993-94. Full House and Roseanne continued to be high rated anchors at 8pm and 9pm. The 9:30pm slot was Coach for a full season. ABC kept trying to find different things to air after Roseanne and kept going back to Coach when other shows failed. In 1993-94, Coach got to keep the slot that whole year and it resulted in a 6th place finish for Coach in the ratings. At 10pm was NYPD Blue , ...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week. After a very busy TV news week last week, this week was much quieter on the TV front while world news took center stage. #1 - OSCARS CONTROVERSY Before the Russia-Ukraine situation took center stage on all news outlets, there was a lot of grousing at the beginning of the week about the Oscars. In an effort to liven up the live broadcast following last year's record lows (amidst a critical drubbing and dealing with a pandemic), the Oscars announced they will not air eight awards during the live ceremony and will instead present them in the hour before the telecast while incorporating the winners (probably with a short clip) during the ceremony. The reaction to the demoted categories, which include editing, sound and original score, has been mostly negative, especially from people who work in those areas. I'm sort of mixed on the issue. On the one hand, this seems to be an attempt to draw in viewers who simply aren't...

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 6 (Part 2) of  Perfect Strangers ! For Part 1,  click here ! 110. Grandpa (1/11/91) Larry's grandpa visits and Larry is surprised at how much he still wants to go out and do things until he has his heart broken. This episode, which has a prominent part for guest star John Anderson, veers awfully close to being heavy-handed and a "very special episode." But it manages to keep the comedy strong enough and the sentimentality down enough that the ratio works. Anderson has a good personality and plays both the rambunctious and depressed grandpa role well. After a couple stinkers, this is a better episode that moves by breezily and has lots of fun moments including perhaps the best use of the usually annoying Dance of Joy. RATING: 8/10 111. Little Apartment of Horrors (1/18/91) With the cold going through the office, Balki grows...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a show that lasted one season or less. This week, I am looking at 1994's 704 Hauser ! 704 HAUSER April 11, 1994 - May 9, 1994 5 episodes CBS Starring: John Amos, Lynnie Godfrey, T.E. Russell, Maura Tierney Created by: Norman Lear Plot: A series set in the same house as the iconic series All in the Family . Now living at 704 Hauser Street in Queens is a black family - the Cumberbatches with outspoken patriarch and Democrat, Ernie (Amos), his understanding wife, Rose (Godfrey) and his conservative son, Thurgood (Russell). Rounding out the main cast is Thurgood's white girlfriend, Cherlyn (Tierney). Brief Pilot Review: I should start by saying I'm generally not a big fan of Norman Lear shows. I recognize and respect his place in TV history but I've always found most of his shows to be so forced with the topical issues. I'm a fan of The Jeffersons but that's about it. I think the idea of setting a show in the same house as the Bunkers...

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 Roseanne Characters ! I did factor in the revival season of Roseanne but not The Conners , since that is technically a different show. 10. CRYSTAL ANDERSON-CONNER Crystal wasn't one of my favorite characters. I felt like she was overused at points and might have been better off as an occasional guest star. At her best moments though, she provided a different dynamic to Roseanne than Jackie provided as a non-family confidante for the main character (though of course she eventually became family).  9. BOOKER BROOKS Before he became a breakout star on ER and then a worldwide movie star, George Clooney had humble beginnings on a lot of failed shows. His most steady job early in his career was on Roseanne . He was a pretty prominent character in the first season who had a funny relationship with both Roseanne and Jackie. Of course Clooney was meant for bigger things but I wish Booker had stuck around as a character.

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Mondays in the 1993-94 season! ABC 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep Day One Monday Night Football Oct Nov Dec Jan Monday Night Movie Feb Mar Apr May ABC needed to figure out something for the 8pm hour leading into Monday Night Football and then the Monday Night Movie . After years of MacGyver in the slot, they struck out with The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles in 1992-93. It's no surprise they turned to a newsmagazine and those were all the rage in the mid-90s. Day One moved over to the night after launching on Sundays the previous March. Hosted by Diane Sawyer and Forrest Sawyer (no relation), the show aired the entire season at 8pm to modest ratings. Monday Night Football continued to be a Top 10 show and the movie that replaced it was...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - FINAL SEASON ANNOUNCEMENTS It was a busy week for TV news with TCA days and investor calls for several high profile networks and streamers. But perhaps most notable was three final season announcements for beloved shows and it all happened on Thursday. With its fourth season dropping today, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was renewed for a fifth and final season at Amazon and that season is already in production. There was also the news that Atlanta will end after four seasons on FX. Its third season returns after a very long hiatus on March 24. Finally, the one-time Netflix phenom Stranger Things was renewed for a fifth and final season. The fourth season will premiere its first half on May 27. All three series have been beloved and Emmy contenders/winners so they will leave a big hole for their respective platforms. The good news for fans of these shows is that there is still one more season for each beyond the current one, b...

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 6 (Part 1) of  Perfect Strangers ! PERFECT STRANGERS: SEASON SIX 1990-1991 24 episodes Season six of  Perfect Strangers  did not grade out to be my highest ranked season of the show but it did have some awfully high highs thanks to some experimental storytelling. For much of the run, the show was pretty much as standard a sitcom as there was. The sixth season certainly does not stop with the sitcom tropes, but it also does try some different things, most notably in a pitch perfect parody of  The Honeymooners  midway through the season. Starring Bronson Pinchot as Balki Bartokomous  (24 episodes) Mark Linn-Baker as Larry Appleton  (24 episodes) Melanie Wilson as Jennifer Lyons  (17 episodes) Rebecca Arthur as Mary Anne Spencer  (16 episodes) Sam Anderson as Sam Gorpley  (8 episodes) Belita Mor...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at a show that lasted one season or less. This week, with the Amazon adaptation coming later this year, I am taking a look at 1993's A League of Their Own ! A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN April 10, 1993 - August 13, 1993 5 episodes CBS Starring: Sam McMurray, Carey Lowell, Christine Elise, Tracy Nelson, Megan Cavanagh, Tracy Reiner, Wendy Makkena, Katie Rich Created by: Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel Plot: Based on the 1992 film of the same name, Jimmy Dugan (McMurray) is a coach of female baseball players during World War II who are playing because all the men are overseas. This includes Betty (Reiner) who lost her husband in the War, Dottie (Lowell) who is returning to the team and Dottie's younger sister, Kit (Elise) among many others. Brief Pilot Review: I know this might be sacrilegious but I have never seen the movie A League of Their Own. I've always thought the premise was interesting, I just am not a big movies guy and there's tons of iconic...

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 Friends Characters ! A tough list to make as Friends is one of my favorite shows! Close Calls: Gunther, Judy Geller, Sandra Green 10. JACK GELLER Jack Geller was such a ridiculous and bombastic character and he fends off some strong close calls (including his wife!) to come in at #10 on the list. Elliott Gould played the awkward father character to perfection who always shared just a little bit too much and went a little bit too far. But he also ultimately meant well and had some very sweet moments on the show with his on-screen children. Jack and Judy provided a different type of dynamic whenever they were on the show with the age difference. 9. MIKE HANNIGAN Phoebe was always a little bit of an outsider among the six main cast members - she wasn't siblings with any of them, she didn't date any of them, she didn't know any of them when they were in high school. So her story occasionally was parallel. That continued towards the end of the serie...

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Sundays in the 1992-93 season! ABC 7:00 7:30 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 America’s Funniest Home Videos America’s Funniest People Day One Apr Dinosaurs May ABC started the 1992-93 season with a familiar lineup: Life Goes On followed by an unscripted comedy hour and then a movie. Life Goes On had a long run for a show that never made much of a dent in the ratings but its fourth season was its final season as it was cancelled. Series star Patti LuPone was already set to leave the show even before the cancellation announcement so it wasn't a big sur...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - "BEAUTY AND THE BEAST" PREQUEL NOT GOING FORWARD There was surprising news on Thursday evening that the Beauty and the Beast prequel will not be going forward. The series, which would have seen Luke Evans and Josh Gad reprising their roles as Gaston and LeFou, has been a hot development title for the streamer for years. It seemed like a sure thing when more cast members were announced recently and filming was set to get underway in just a few months. The scrapping was due partly to logistics but it appears it was mainly due to "creative reasons" so the scripts must not have been coming in well. Of course Disney+ has plenty of other properties to worry about and they may revisit a series like this in the future so it's not a huge blow, but it still big news just because this was likely to be one of their tentpole shows and it all seemed to fall apart quickly.

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 5 (Part 2) of  Perfect Strangers ! For Part 1,  click here ! 86. Disorderly Orderlies (1/12/90) Larry tricks Balki into volunteering as an orderly so he can get a big interview with a recovering football player. Balki and Larry in a hospital is a trope that  Perfect Strangers  hasn't done yet so we get that in this episode. There is an extended physical gag of Balki and Larry trying to help a patient and it feels like awhile since we've seen a really long bit like that. Although they are pretty silly, Mark Linn-Baker and Bronson Pinchot do well with those and there are times they make me think of a male version of Lucy and Ethel or Laverne and Shirley. Overall, this is a pretty funny episode that ends up having even more physical comedy besides the one long bit. RATING: 8/10 87. The Selling of Mypos (1/26/90) Balki is ask...

For my One Season Wonder this week, I'm taking a look at  Covington Cross ! COVINGTON CROSS August 25, 1992 - October 31, 1992 7 episodes ABC Starring: Nigel Terry, Cherie Lunghi, James Faulkner, Jonathan Firth, Ben Porter, Glenn Quinn and Ione Skye Created by: Gil Grant Plot: In 14th Century England, Sir Thomas Grey (Terry) is widowed and raising his sons, William, Richard and Cedric (Porter, Firth & Quinn) and daughter, Eleanor (Skye). William was only in the pilot and a new son, Armus (Tim Killick), was in the rest of the series. Rounding out the main cast is Thomas' love interest, Lady Elizabeth (Lunghi) and Baron John Mullens (Faulkner). Brief Pilot Review: What was most noticeable about this pilot was how beautiful it was from a cinematic standpoint. For 1992 standards that is. No show from that era can compete with the technical elements of shows today but compared to its peers in 1992, this was a very impressive looking drama. The sets and costumes were lavish and e...

My Top 10 this week is Top 10 Murphy Brown Characters ! 10. ELDIN BERNECKY I know a lot of people like Eldin, but his character wasn't quite for me. He has some nice moments but in general, I tend to want the "home" scenes to go by quickly and get back to the office scenes. And as far as recurring jokes go, the revolving door of secretaries is a much better one than Eldin painting Murphy's house for years and years. But the character did have a heart of gold so that has to count for something. 9. AVERY BROWN There were two Avery Browns on Murphy Brown  - Murphy's mother and Murphy's son. Colleen Dewhurst won Emmys but it's been a long time since I've seen her limited appearances. So I went with Avery, the son, thanks to the ill-advised 2018 revival. While that revival was completely stale and unnecessary, Jake McDorman was easily the best part of it with a fun personality and a good relationship with his on-screen mother.

On Mondays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Saturdays in the 1992-93 season! ABC 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep Covington Cross Crossroads The Commish Oct Nov Saturday Night Movie Dec Jan Feb Mar The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles Various Programs Apr May Saturday Night Movie ABC gave Saturday nights yet another try heading into the 1992-93 season despite years of failures on the night. They did actually have one returning show with 10pm's The Commish . Entering its second season, Commish kept the lights on in a very difficult slot for the Alphabet network. After trying comedies in 1991-92, ABC tried two new dramas from 8-10pm. At 8pm was Covington Cross , an historical drama set in 14th century England. The series was shot in England for an A...

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 -  JEFF ZUCKER RESIGNS FROM CNN It was a week with a couple scandals in the news world but the biggest one came out of nowhere: Jeff Zucker abruptly announced his resignation on Wednesday after failing to disclose a relationship with another CNN executive. This came to light during the scandal that just keeps on giving - the one involving the Cuomo brothers. Zucker has been a lightning rod in the media for a long time, both during his run in charge of CNN since 2013 and especially when he was in charge of NBC in the 2000s. It's safe to say that he had more success at CNN than NBC but it ultimately ended in a surprisingly swift downfall. All the cable news networks had huge audience highs in 2020 with the Presidential Election and COVID among other things but they're all struggling to move forward in the current era and this news could have a large impact on the direction that CNN heads in.

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 5 (Part 1) of  Perfect Strangers ! PERFECT STRANGERS: SEASON FIVE 1989-1990 24 episodes The fifth season of  Perfect Strangers  saw the series move to Friday nights as part of the inaugural TGIF lineup along with its spinoff,  Family Matters , among other shows.  Perfect Strangers  never gets to a point of just high level of excellence but this is probably its most consistently solid season as evidenced by it grading out to my highest score for a full season. The show is very comfortable at being what it is and though it rarely takes chances or rises to a level where it could be considered ambitious or special, it at least is consistently doing a good job at what it is trying to do. Starring Bronson Pinchot as Balki Bartokomous  (24 episodes) Mark Linn-Baker as Larry Appleton  (24 episodes) Melanie Wil...

For my One Season Wonder this week, I'm taking a look at  Camp Wilder ! CAMP WILDER September 18, 1992 - February 26, 1993 19 episodes ABC Starring: Mary Page Keller, Jerry O'Connell, Jay Mohr, Meghann Haldeman, Hilary Swank, Margaret Langrick, Tina Majorino Created by: Matthew Carlson Plot: Ricky Wilder (Keller) is a nurse and single mother to six year old Sophie (Majorino). She returns home to take care of her younger siblings, Brody and Melissa (O'Connell & Haldeman) after the death of their parents. Rounding out the main cast are Brody's best friend, Dorfman (Mohr), and Melissa's friends Beth and Danielle (Langrick & Swank). Brief Pilot Review: In case you didn't have a synopsis handy, the show tells you right away about everyone's relationships in the show through the credits with titles like "sister" or "other best friend." This episode does not delve too much into the setup to the series, that would have been more sad and m...

For my Top 10 Tuesday, I am counting down my Top 10 The Americans Characters! Spoilers ahead in this post if you haven't watched the entire series. 10. GABRIEL Veteran actor Frank Langella joined the cast of The Americans pretty late in its run and while the show already had a lot of prestige, he brought an added layer of gravitas to the cast. Gabriel had great scenes with Philip and Elizabeth that involved a lot of honest conversations and he was also a big player when Paige was possibly joining her parents. 9. KIMMY BRELAND Before her breakout role on Ozark , Julia Garner was turning heads in a great supporting role in later seasons of The Americans . There was a lot of mystique to her character early on and it led to some questionable decisions by Philip. While some of those mysterious characters were given a little too much time on The Americans , I actually could have stood to see more of Kimmy because I liked her story and her impact on Philip's story.