Benjamonster's TV

Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - TREVOR NOAH LEAVING "THE DAILY SHOW" In a surprising announcement on Thursday night, Trevor Noah announced he will be leaving The Daily Show after seven plus seasons as host. Noah took over for the legendary Jon Stewart in 2015 and there was a lot of skepticism about him when he started. After a rough beginning, he found his voice and settled into a critically acclaimed run. While The Daily Show didn't quite have the cultural awareness it had during the Stewart years, Noah's incarnation still received multiple Emmy nominations while Noah became an increasingly respected figure. No successor has been named nor has there been a timetable for Noah's departure but it's another change in the late night scene along with James Corden's pending departure in Summer 2023. Comedy Central is also in a much different place than it was when the last transition happened as Cable TV struggles to find its way ...

On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. Here's a look at Season 7 (Part 2) of  Happy Days ! For Part 1,  click here ! 156. Here Comes the Bride Again (12/18/79) With their anniversary coming up, Marion wants to have a real wedding after revealing their first wedding wasn't very romantic. This episode features a mostly forgotten comedy duo named Bob and Ray as guest stars. They aren't a duo you hear about very often these days but they were apparently well known enough in 1979 to get entrance applause. This is  Happy Days  doing surreal stuff in a much better way than the campy fantasy episodes. This episode is based on a sweet and completely normal concept (a renewal of vows) but it peppers the entire affair with some surreal elements courtesy mainly of the two guest stars. It makes it funny, not stupid and this is a strong episode. RATING: 9/10 157. Ah, Wilderness (1/8/80) Richie, Potsie and Ralph bring dates on a camping trip for Spring Break a...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at 1995's The Crew ! THE CREW August 31, 1995 - June 30, 1996 21 episodes FOX Starring: Rose Jackson, Kristin Bauer, David Burke, Charles Esten, Dondre T. Whitfield, with Christine Estabrook and Lane Davies Created by: Jamie Wooten, Marc Cherry, John Pardee & Joey Murphy Plot: The lives and loves of a group of flight attendants living in Miami Beach, Florida. The crew includes Roommates Jess (Jackson) and Maggie (Bauer) along with openly gay Paul (Burke) and womanizing Randy (Esten). They are supervised by former flight attendant Lenora (Estabrook) and Captain Rex Parker (Davies). Rounding out the main cast is a bartender named MacArthur (Whtifield). Brief Pilot Review: I like airplane themed shows - Wings is underrated as far as I'm concerned, LA to Vegas was a short-lived charmer on FOX and of course I've enjoyed The Flight Attendant . So I was predisposed to like this one and ther...

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Thursdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 10:00 Sep Charlie Grace The Monroes Various Programs Oct Murder One Nov Various Programs Dec Various Programs Thursday Night Movie Jan Feb World’s Funniest Videos Before They Were Stars! Mar Apr May NBC was the powerhouse on Thursday nights but ABC still gave it the old college try in the Fall of 1995 with a trio of new dramas that they hoped would help them cut into the Peacock's dominance. Headlining their night was Murder One , a high profile new show from Steven Bochco that received much of the network's attention before the season started. The series focused on one murder case for an entire season, whi...

Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - GOLDEN GLOBES RETURNING TO NBC After a one year hiatus because of their own failures, the Golden Globes are returning to NBC in 2023. The much maligned yet long running awards show that has been the unofficial kickoff of awards season was pulled from NBC this year after the group that hands out the awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, came under fire for both a lack of diversity and some shady business during the campaign season. The Golden Globes were still awarded but there was no official ceremony and it was pretty much an afterthought. Due to the NFL airing on the usual spot on January 8 and the Critics Choice Awards claiming January 15, the Golden Globe Awards will air on a Tuesday - January 10. What remains to be seen is if the stars will return and it will be the party it once was. It's hard to imagine the actors completely embracing the show the way they used to but I guess we'll see.

On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. Here's a look at Season 7 (Part 1) of  Happy Days ! HAPPY DAYS: SEASON SEVEN 1979-1980 25 episodes It's the end of an era with Season Seven of  Happy Days . Ron Howard and Don Most depart at the end of the season. It might have been time for Don Most but the show is never the same after Ron Howard leaves. His send-off season graded out the same as the previous season but it feels more grounded. The show doesn't go to as many crazy places with s many fantasy-based episodes. So even though the grade was the same, it feels like a better season of  Happy Days , or at least a more consistent one. Starring Ron Howard as Richie Cunningham  (25 episodes) Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli  (25 episodes) Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham  (25 episodes) Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham  (24 episodes) Anson Williams as Potsie Webber  (25 episodes) Don Most as Ralph Malph  (25 episodes) Erin Mora...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at 1995's  Central Park West ! CENTRAL PARK WEST September 13, 1995 - June 28, 1996 17 episodes CBS Starring: Madchen Amick, John Barrowman, Melissa Errico, Lauren Hutton, Justin Lazard, Michael Michele, Tom Verica and Mariel Hemingway Created by: Darren Star Plot: Stephanie Wells (Hemingway) and her husband, Mark Merrill (Verica) move from Seattle to Central Park West in Manhattan as Stephanie takes a job as editor-in-chief of Communique magazine. The owner of the magazine (recurring guest Ron Leibman) has a second wife, Linda (Hutton) who has two grown children: Carrie (Amick), a columnist for the magazine, immediately becomes a rival of Stephanie's while Peter (Barrowman) is a golden boy lawyer. Rounding out the cast are friends of Carrie or Peter. Brief Pilot Review: This was a very glossy pilot with pretty high production values for a mid-90s drama on CBS. The pilot did a pretty solid j...

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Wednesdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Ellen The Drew Carey Show Grace Under Fire The Naked Truth Primetime Live Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar The Faculty Buddies Apr The Drew Carey Show The Faculty May ABC solidified their anchor shows for the 1995-96 season with Roseanne and Home Improvement on Tuesdays and Ellen and Grace Under Fire holding things down on Wednesdays. Grace Under Fire was in its third season and still a big hit that was more than capable of being an anchor show. Ellen was moved out of a cushy slot to take the 8pm lead-off spot. It was not as strong as the other anchors, but was a more stable performer than Thunder A...

Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - EMMY WINNERS RECAP The Emmy Awards were held on Monday night and there was a lot of expected winners (I went 11/15 on my major category predictions that I posted on this blog and 19/25 overall). There was also a little bit more spreading out of the winners compared to sweeps seen by Schitt's Creek and The Crown in recent years. The series winners were largely predicted with Ted Lasso repeating in Comedy, Succession winning for a second time in Drama and The White Lotus taking home Limited/Anthology. Within the acting and directing/writing categories though, there were also wins for Hacks and Abbott Elementary in Comedy, Squid Game, Euphoria and Ozark in Drama and Dopesick and The Dropout in Limited/Anthology. In a year with a tremendous amount of breadth in worthy contenders, there could have been some more surprises or spreading of the wealth, but I agreed with quite a few of the winners (as seen in my Benjamonster Aw...

On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. Here's a look at Season 6 (Part 2) of Happy Days ! For Part 1,  click here ! 130. Richie Gets Framed (12/12/78) While Richie is running for his college's class president, he gets framed while at a massage parlor. This is sort of an adult-themed episode that would probably have different consequences in modern times. This theme is a welcome relief after the string of silly, very kid-friendly episodes. It's one that firmly places Richie and the gang in college and deals with college level pranks instead of trying to make them all seem like high school students. I also like that the episode plays up Richie's nerdiness with his campaign speech. It's not something the show does all that often and I think they could have made that a character trait more regularly. RATING: 6.5/10 131. Christmas Time (12/19/78) At Christmas, Fonzie gets a package delivered to him from his father but he doesn't want anything to...

On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at 1995's The Pursuit of Happiness ! THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS September 19, 1995 - November 7, 1995 6 episodes NBC Starring: Tom Amandes, Melinda McGraw, Brad Garrett, Maxine Stuart, Meredith Scott Lynn and Larry Miller Created by: Dave Hackel Plot: Steve Rutledge (Amandes) is a successful Chicago lawyer who is in the midst of a mid-life crisis while dealing with a newly unemployed wife, McKenzie (McGraw), and her brother, Larry (Miller). His colleagues include partner Alex (Garrett) and secretary Jean (Lynn). Rounding out the main cast is Steve's grandma (Stuart). Brief Pilot Review: I'm pretty used to seeing Tom Amandes in dramas so it was a little weird to see him in a comedic role. He wasn't particularly well-suited for comedy as he was awfully stiff in a role that had plenty of comedic opportunities. The pilot also made use of Amandes doing voiceovers which were a little bit mor...

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Tuesdays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 Sep Roseanne Hudson Street Home Improvement Coach Murder One Oct NYPD Blue Nov Dec Jan Champs Feb Coach Various Programs Mar The Dana Carvey Show Apr May Ellen Coach ABC had made a big move in 1994-95 by sending Roseanne to Wednesdays and slotting Home Improvement as the new Tuesday 9pm anchor. In 1995-96, after the departure of Full House , Roseanne came back to the night but now as the 8pm anchor. The one time #1 sitcom was now in its eighth season and fell out of the Top 10 for the first time in its run. It was expected to be the final season but Roseanne Barr struck...

Here's a look at my Top 5 TV news stories of the week! #1 - EMMY PREDICTIONS The Emmys are coming up on Monday night! Hosted by Kenan Thompson, the ceremony will feature many very competitive categories as TV was back in full force for 2021-22 after a couple COVID abridged years. Below are my predictions. Among the major predictions (the ones I share on the blog), I went 7/15 in 2020 and 8/15 in 2021. I'm shooting for 9 or more this time! Outstanding Comedy Series Will Win: Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) Should Win: Abbott Elementary (ABC) Should Have Been Nominated: Schmigadoon (Apple TV+) Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Will & Should Win: Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO Max) Should Have Been Nominated: Pamela Adlon, Better Things (FX) Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Will & Should Win: Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) Should Have Been Nominated: Drew Tarver, The Other Two (HBO Max) Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Will & Should Win: Janell...

On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. I'm picking up where I left off last spring with Happy Days and its sixth season! HAPPY DAYS: SEASON SIX 1978-1979 27 episodes Season Six of  Happy Days  starts to lean in quite a bit to some surreal elements. It was almost as if they were emboldened by how well the "My Favorite Orkan" episode in Season Five was received and decided to do a whole lot more fantasy episodes were Fonzie gets to be the hero. As a result, we get downright strange episodes like "The Evil Eye," "The Claw Meets the Fonz" and the "Fonzie's Funeral" two part episode which, while very funny at times, is absolutely ridiculous. There's a pretty big drop off from the previous season and the show doesn't resemble the very realistic and gentle 1950s show it started as in the first couple seasons. But luckily it will recover a bit for Ron Howard's final season in 1979-80. Starring Ron Howard as Richi...

On Wednesdays I take a look at a show that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at 1995's Can't Hurry Love ! CAN'T HURRY LOVE September 18, 1995 - February 26, 1996 19 episodes CBS Starring: Nancy McKeon, Mariska Hargitay, Louis Mandylor, David Pressman Created by: Gina Wendkos Plot: Annie O'Donnell (McKeon) is a single, thirtysomething woman living in New York City with her carefree friend and neighbor, Didi (Hargitay). She also manages an employment agency with colleagues and friends, Roger (Mandylor) and Elliot (Pressman in the pilot, Kevin Crowley in the series). Brief Pilot Review: There was one bright spot in this otherwise banal sitcom pilot and that was Mariska Hargitay. A few years before starting her iconic role on Law & Order: SVU, Hargitay was easily the standout in a role that was completely different for her. She had a natural charm and energy and delivered lines with such gusto even when they weren't all that good. The rest of the show did...

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Mondays in the 1995-96 season! ABC 8:00 9:00 10:00 Sep The Marshal Monday Night Football Oct Nov Dec Jan Monday Night Movie Murder One Feb Second Noah Various Programs Mar High Incident Apr May Various Programs Monday Night Movie Since MacGyver ended in 1992, ABC had been looking for a lead-in to Monday Night Football . After trying (and failing) with comedies in the 1994-95 season, they went back to an action drama with the only returning sophomore series, The Marshal . The series had been a quiet performer on Saturday nights in 1994-95 and might have been a "save face" renewal. When it got to air in the higher profile Monday slot, the results were not good and th...