THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 10/28/22

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!

#1 - "GIRLS5EVA" HEADING TO NETFLIX

In a surprise announcement on Thursday, the comedy Girls5Eva, which aired its first two seasons on Peacock, has been renewed for a third season and will move to Netflix. The series premiered in May 2021 and was praised by many critics. There was some speculation that it might be a sleeper Emmys contender in 2021 but that didn't come to pass as Peacock just hasn't been able to get eyeballs for its originals. The second season premiered about a year later and seemed to get even more lost in the shuffle. It looked like Peacock was ready to cancel the show despite its vocal, but small, audience. But Netflix, which previously rescued another NBC show from Tina Fey in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, came through and will give the series a third season. It feels like this show, which stars Sara Bareilles, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Busy Phillips and Paula Pell could definitely break out on a streamer that gets many more attention for its originals. Time will tell. I loved the first season and nominated it for Outstanding Comedy Series at my 2021 Benjamonster Awards. I thought the second season was alright but not as strong. It does have the best theme song currently on TV though.

EPISODE GUIDES: Happy Days Season Nine (Part 2)

On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. Here's a look at Season 9 (Part 2) of Happy Days! For Part 1, click here!

201. To Beanie or Not to Beanie (1/5/82)

Instead of deciding between the University of Milwaukee and UCLA, Joanie makes a decision to not go to college which upsets Howard, Marion, Fonzie and Chachi.

This is a nice episode because it really focuses in on the good characters on the show: Fonzie, the Cunningham family and Chachi. It's weird to count Chachi as one of the best characters on the show but at this point in the run of the show, that's absolutely true. This feels like the first episode in awhile that was really family-driven. And though it was a pretty ridiculous moment, it was still a funny sight gag to see Fonzie climbing into bed with the Cunninghams. It's also interesting to see a "go to your room" joke back in the mix after the series used that often in the early years.

RATING: 7.5/10

202. Southern Crossing (1/12/82)

Outraged by seeing a beating of a black man in the south on TV, Al convinces Fonzie to join him on a trip to the south for a civil rights demonstration.

Happy Days is not a show that was cut out for dealing with race issues. But at least the show remembered it was set in the early 1960s for one episode. It feels like it has been forever since the show really placed itself in the time period. This episode definitely feels awkward with Al sort of playing the "white savior" role. But you have to remember this aired in 1982 and the show was definitely well-meaning with this episode. It would be a more egregious fail if it came out now but at the time, you have to at least credit it for trying even if it doesn't work.

RATING: 4/10

ONE SEASON WONDERS: Dangerous Minds

On Wednesday, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at Dangerous Minds!

DANGEROUS MINDS

September 30, 1996 - March 15, 1997

17 episodes

ABC

Starring: Annie Potts, Tamala Jones, Cedrick Terrell, K. Todd Freeman, Jenny Gago, Greg Serano, Maria Costa, LaToya Howlett and Stanley Anderson

Based on the Screenplay by Robert Bass

Based on "My Posse Don't Do Homework" by Louanne Johnson

Plot: Louanne Johnson (Potts) is a former teacher and US Marine returning to the classroom as an English teacher in an inner city school rife with gangs and lots of other issues. She inspires her students while sparring occasionally with colleagues include computers teacher Bud Bartkus (Anderson).

Brief Pilot Review:

It was clear from the jump that this was going to be a show that was trying hard to be edgy. Between Annie Potts' hairstyle and the use of "Gangsta's Paradise" as a theme song, this show was really trying to prove it was one of the "cool kids." My goodness, Coolio even guest starred in the pilot. The show also used a very irritating transition between scenes that felt very 90s and was also another attempt at being hip. It was such a blatant attempt at a network show to do something cool and even then, before streaming and tons of diverse TV, cool was reserved for places like MTV, not ABC.

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1996-1997 Mondays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Mondays in the 1996-97 season!

ABC	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	Dangerous Minds	Monday Night Football
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan		Monday Night Movie
Feb
Mar	Spy Game
Apr	Relativity
May	Various Programs

ABC continued the search for a lead-in for Monday Night Football in the 1996-97 season as they hadn't found a successful pairing since MacGyver went off the air. Their attempt in the Fall of 1996 was Dangerous Minds, an urban school drama based on the successful 1995 movie of the same name starring Michelle Pfeiffer. The TV version starred Annie Potts in her first dramatic role after spending a decade on Designing Women and Love & War. The series did not catch on with viewers the way the film had and it was off the night in February. Check back tomorrow for a One Season Wonder post on Dangerous Minds! In March, ABC launched Spy Game, an action drama that paid tribute to 1960s spy shows like The Man From U.N.C.L.E. down to its stylish credits. Though those were all the rage in the 60s, the 90s audience was not interested. It performed even worse than Dangerous Minds and was off the air after just three weeks. ABC tried one more drama in the 8pm hour at the end of the season. Relativity had been a high profile new show in a tough Saturday slot so ABC gave it a last ditch effort at a renewal by airing it on Mondays. The romance drama only had three more episodes in its season so it aired those on Monday and it didn't make enough of a difference to sway ABC to a renewal. After trying some different approaches in the 1995-96, ABC went back to a movie replacing Football in January.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 10/21/22

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!

#1 - NFL & AMAZON ADDING BLACK FRIDAY GAME

The NFL is expanding its partnership with Amazon. Despite mixed reviews for their Thursday Night Football takeover this year, the NFL will add a Black Friday game to Amazon's slate in 2023. It is no surprise that Amazon wants this, they are already a big player in the post-Thanksgiving market and could even be trying to stick another dagger into in-person Black Friday shopping. But the bigger reason is likely another new window for the NFL which continues to expand its presence on days that used to never carry NFL games. There are already three Thanksgiving games and now we'll get a Friday game before the rest of the slate comes on Sunday and Monday. It will be a pretty thin Sunday slate that weekend. It might seem like overkill, but that never seems to hurt the NFL that much.

EPISODE GUIDES: Happy Days Season Nine (Part 1)

On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. Here's a look at Season 9 (Part 1) of Happy Days!

HAPPY DAYS: SEASON NINE
1981-1982

22 episodes

The ninth season of Happy Days might be the most consistent of the four non-Richie years of the show. The show seems to have found somewhat of a groove with their new ensemble focus and the dynamics between the main characters. That gets upended again at the end of the season when they spin Erin Moran and Scott Baio off to Joanie Loves Chachi and that really helps to accelerate the end of Happy Days. But in the meantime, there are enough decent episodes. It doesn't soar to the highs it once did but it manages to often be a good enough version of the show it was by this point.

Starring

Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli (22 episodes)

Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham (22 episodes)
Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham (20 episodes)

Anson Williams as Potsie Webber (12 episodes)

Erin Moran as Joanie Cunningham (22 episodes)

Al Molinaro as Al Delvecchio (21 episodes)

Scott Baio as Chachi Arcola (22 episodes)
Lynda Goodfriend as Lori Beth Cunningham (13 episodes) 

Cathy Silvers as Jenny Piccolo (17 episodes) 

Ted McGinley as Roger Phillips (16 episodes) 

Harris Kal as Bobby (7 episodes)

Dennis Mandel as Eugene Belvin (5 episodes)

Scott Mitchell Bernstein as Melvin Belvin (3 episodes)

Kevin Sullivan as Tommy (2 episodes)

Ed Peck as Officer Kirk (1 episode)

Billy Warlock as Flip Phillips (1 episode)

190. Home Movies Part 1 (10/6/81)

Joanie recounts her summer by sending home movies to Richie. The events include Joanie and Chachi breaking up, Lori Beth's pregnancy and Howard and Fonzie having an identity crisis.

Happy Days returns for its ninth season with a clever way of advancing the plot that's been done quite a few times since but was more novel back in 1981. The episode, which originally aired with the next episode as a one hour event, took place over the Summer of 1962 and effectively managed a lot of stories. The Fonzie story feels a little boring but there's decent enough drama for the Joanie and Chachi story, which is really the driving relationship in the show at this point. Although weren't the first couple clips awfully weird for Joanie to be sending to her brother overseas? Oh and by the way, she is also sporting a very 80s haircut.

RATING: 7/10

191. Home Movies Part 2 (10/6/81)

Joanie continues to tell Richie about the summer for the Cunninghams and their friends as her fight with Chachi comes to a head.

The second part of the episode (which again, was originally an hour) is not as strong as the first part. Erin Moran doesn't really have the acting chops to pull off the dramatic climax with Scott Baio and we're "treated" to a Potsie song, the first one in awhile. There are good things about this episode but I think it ultimately could have benefited from tapping a little more into the wistful nostalgia at what Summer 1962 might have looked like in Milwaukee. It feels a little too blah to really capture the spirit that it's clearly trying to capture. Also, Fonzie seems like a background character in these first two episodes.

RATING: 5/10

ONE SEASON WONDERS: First Time Out

On Wednesday, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at First Time Out!

FIRST TIME OUT

September 10, 1995 - December 17, 1995
12 episodes
WB

Starring: Jackie Guerra, Mia Cottet, with Leah Remini and Craig Anton, Tracy Vilar, Roxanne Beckford
Created by: Shawn Schepps & Diane Wilk

Plot: Jackie (Guerra) is an owner of a trendy salon in Los Angeles who attends law school classes at night and longs to find both a more fulfilling career as well as a man. She lives with roommates Susan (Cottet) and Dominique (Remini) and also deals with childhood friend Nathan (Anton).

Brief Pilot Review:
This was an early show for the WB as it had only been a network for less than a year when First Time Out premiered. They were trying to get the pulse of their audience and this was billed as the first network sitcom to star a Latina with an actress they thought was an up and comer, Jackie Geurra. Although progressive in a sense with its star, the opening scene does make fun of a character with something similar to Tourettes so there's that. It's interesting that this was only a few years before The King of Queens and yet Leah Remini seems so much younger here. 

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Sundays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Sundays in the 1995-96 season!

ABC	7:00	7:30	8:00	9:00	10:00
Sep	America’s Funniest Home Videos	America’s Funniest Home Videos	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Sunday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May

With lots of networks making big moves on Sunday nights in the 1995-96 season, ABC stuck with the status quo. America's Funniest Home Videos was double pumped in the 7pm hour but it was not much of a force anymore, dropping all the way to #70 after one time being in the Top 10. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman continued at 8pm and was a darling of magazine covers and things like that but only modestly rated. The movie came in a distant third to the competing movies on CBS and NBC.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 10/14/22

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!

#1 - R.I.P  ANGELA LANSBURY

The world said goodbye to a legend this week. The iconic Angela Lansbury passed away at the age of 96. In a career that spanned seven decades, Lansbury started in the Golden Age of Hollywood (an era that has very few living actors left) and portrayed many memorable roles on the big screen and on stage, where she won five Tony Awards and hosted the ceremony multiple times. But this is a TV blog and her TV role may be what the most fans known her from. She had an acclaimed 12 year run as Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote. The series was a Top 10 hit on CBS on Sunday nights for many, many years in the 80s and 90s. Though it famously skewed old at the time, it has continued to do well in syndication and on cable and now even on streaming through Peacock. Lansbury never won an Emmy for the series despite twelve nominations but it propelled her to a new level of superstardom in the way that only a beloved TV show role can. She was well respected and liked by her peers and her loss, even though she lived a long and full life, will still be felt by many.

EPISODE GUIDES: Happy Days Season Eight (Part 2)

On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. Here's a look at Season 8 (Part 2) of Happy Days! For Part 1, click here!

179. Broadway It's Not (2/10/81)

Chachi gets jealous when Joanie has a love scene with another boy at the school play, which is directed by Fonzie.

As someone who is involved in school musicals, I'm not usually a fan of their depiction on TV and especially when Erin Moran and Scott Baio, though they are usually good actors, are certainly not comfortable in the musical theater realm. This episode follows a familiar jealousy trope (kissing on stage is a big deal for high schoolers on TV and in real life for that matter). But the weirdest part (aside from Fonzie being the director because, of course they do that to Fonzie) is the song Chachi sings to Joanie. It's a weird 70s song in a high school musical from the early 60s that seems to be set well before that. It's really bizarre.

RATING: 2/10

180. Bride and Gloom (2/17/81)

After Jenny gets dumped, Fonzie takes Jenny to a high school dance on a boat and they inadvertently get married by the captain of the boat.

This would be a funny episode if there wasn't a creepy factor. I mean, how old is Fonzie supposed to be at this point in the show? He would at least be mid-20s. And here he is not only taking a high school girl to a dance but then ends up accidentally married to her. It just makes everything uncomfortable, and not in a good way. Everyone goes around acting like Jenny's just being silly and Fonzie is stuck with being married without acknowledging that it is horribly inappropriate. This episode may have worked a couple years earlier in the run when Fonzie was younger or with an older character (Lori Beth?) but it doesn't work here.

RATING: 3.5/10

ONE SEASON WONDERS: The Preston Episodes

On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at 1995's The Preston Episodes!

THE PRESTON EPISODES

September 9, 1995 - October 28, 1995
8 episodes
FOX

Starring: David Alan Grier, Judith Scott, Tommy Hinkley, Matthew Walker, Brent Hinkley, Clive Revill
Created by: Jace Richdale

Plot: Recently divorced English professor David Preston (Grier) moves to Manhattan and begins working for a gossip magazine for a much younger boss, Adam Green (Walker). The rest of the cast included his immediate supervisor, Larry (Revill), co-worker Kelly (Scott) and oddball Harlow (Brent Hinkley) while his home life includes oddball neighbor Derek (Tommy Hinkley - apparently not related to Brent).

Brief Pilot Review:
It was very common in the mid 1990s to have sitcoms (and sometimes dramas) set in the publishing/magazine realm. It was definitely a big thing that lasted for years but has disappeared as a trend as that industry has gone through major changes and hard times. This show certainly felt like a male version of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and it made that feeling abundantly clear with a Mary tribute at the end of the episode. I've never been a big David Alan Grier fan, but he's pretty solid here and has some funny moments. I think he's gotten a little too broad in later years, but he was still young here and his comic timing lands for the most part (except for his screams when he sees his neighbor). 

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Saturdays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Saturdays in the 1995-96 season!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	10:00
Sep	The Jeff Foxworthy Show	Maybe This Time	Saturday Night Movie
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb	Hudson Street
Mar	Various Programs
Apr
May

For several years, ABC aired The Commish at 10pm on Saturday nights while they toiled with the rest of the night and often resorted to movies. In the Fall of 1995, The Commish was held off the schedule (and ultimately only aired a couple two hour episodes). ABC opted to move the movie back to 9pm and went with a family sitcom hour with two new sitcoms at 8pm. Up first was The Jeff Foxworthy Show, one of many new sitcoms in 1995-96 based on the persona of a stand-up comedian. This "redneck" sitcom hedged its bets by being set in Indiana so as not to appear "too southern." It was paired with Maybe this Time, a gentle multi-generational sitcom starring Betty White and Marie Osmond as mother and daughter. Both sitcoms got previews on other nights leading up to their Saturday premieres but it did not help them carve out a niche in a difficult slot. Both were gone by March with The Jeff Foxworthy Show gone a little earlier in favor of a few extra episodes of Tuesday cast-off Hudson Street. The comedies were cancelled by ABC but Foxworthy got a reprise on NBC for the 1996-97 season. ABC didn't commit to any regular programming in the 8pm hour the rest of the season.

THE FRIDAY FIVE: Top 5 TV News Stories of the Week Ending 10/7/22

Here's a look at the Top 5 TV news stories of the week!

#1 - MARK PEDOWITZ LEAVES THE CW

It's the end of an era at The CW. Mark Pedowitz has departed after an impressive 11 years with the network, an eternity for network presidents. Pedowitz took over a flailing network that was still figuring out its identity in the years since it took over for The WB and UPN. Although it never became a huge player in terms of ratings, Pedowitz shepherded the network to developing a very strong identity and buzzy shows including critical darlings Jane the Virgin and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the DC Universe array of series led by Arrow and The Flash and continued nurturing of its flagship show, Supernatural. Many shows including those mentioned plus shows like Riverdale and All American benefited greatly from an arrangement to air complete seasons on Netflix after they were done on The CW. Pedowitz was also well liked thanks to his willingness to show up for events and be interviewed. But he became expendable as Nextar takes over The CW and will morph into something different that may resemble something more like WGN of a few years ago. As for Pedowitz, he will return to his producing roots and should have lots of good connections.

EPISODE GUIDES: Happy Days Season Eight (Part 1)

On Thursdays, I take a critical look at a TV show by season. Here's a look at Season 8 (Part 1) of Happy Days!

HAPPY DAYS: SEASON EIGHT
1980-1981
22 episodes

Happy Days embarks on a new era for its eighth season with the show soldiering on after the departure of Ron Howard (& Don Most). I think many would have assumed it just became "The Fonzie Show" but let's be honest, that was sort of the approach even in the later years of Ron Howard's run. Sure, Fonzie remains a dominant character but the show also clearly bulks up the Joanie & Chachi material and it even feels like Howard & Marion start to get more stories. Those changes help the show not crater completely but there are also bad choices like the addition of Cathy Silvers and Ted McGinley. It definitely feels like the beginning of the end.

Starring

Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzarelli (22 episodes)

Tom Bosley as Howard Cunningham (22 episodes)

Marion Ross as Marion Cunningham (20 episodes)

Anson Williams as Potsie Webber (20 episodes)

Erin Moran as Joanie Cunningham (21 episodes)

Al Molinaro as Al Delvecchio (22 episodes)
Scott Baio as Chachi Arcola (21 episodes)

Lynda Goodfriend as Lori Beth Allen (11 episodes) 

Cathy Silvers as Jenny Piccolo (18 episodes) 

Ted McGinley as Roger Phillips (15 episodes) 

Harris Kal as Bobby (5 episodes)

Dennis Mandel as Eugene Belvin (5 episodes)

Kevin Sullivan as Tommy (2 episodes)

168. No Tell Motel (11/11/80)

Joanie and Chachi sneak away to a Beach Boys concert after Howard tells them they can't date for two weeks but end up stuck at a motel after their car breaks down.

The post-Richie and Ralph era of Happy Days kicks off with a letter from Richie that helps explain to the audience that the character is in the army. But then the show quickly segues into a plot driven by Joanie and Chachi in an clear indication of the direction the show is heading. The episode is a pretty funny one though with a plot that keeps moving throughout the episode especially once the chaste Joanie and Chachi (it was a family sitcom after all) get to the motel and Fonzie shows up (of course). I think it crescendos a bit too quickly but it's a solid first post-Ron Howard effort.

RATING: 8/10

169. Live and Learn (11/18/80)

Fonzie returns from a trip to Italy with a beard and takes a job teaching auto mechanics at Jefferson High School.

The previous episode dealt with Joanie and Chachi and this episode deals with the other major direction the show goes in during the post-Richie years: turning Fonzie into a character ready to settle down. Here he drops the leather jacket for a suitcoat as he takes a teaching job. I don't have a big problem with taking the character in that direction especially because now there's no longer a character like Richie to serve as a counter balance to Fonzie. It's nice to see the show realizing they had to make some changes to freshen up the show.

RATING: 7.5/10

ONE SEASON WONDERS: Aliens in the Family

On Wednesdays, I take a look at shows that lasted one season or less. Here's a look at 1996's Aliens in the Family!

ALIENS IN THE FAMILY

March 15, 1996 - August 31, 1996
8 episodes
ABC

Starring: John Bedford Lloyd, Margaret Trigg, Michelan Sisti, Joey Mazzarino, Paige Tiffany, Alice Dinnean, Michael Gilden, Chris Marquette, Julie Dretzin, David Rudman, John Kennedy

Created by: Andy Borowitz & Susan Borowitz

Plot: Single Dad Doug (Lloyd) is kidnapped by a single alien mom, Cookie (Trigg) and there's a Brady Bunch-type setup but where one side is made up of aliens (played by puppets from Jim Henson's Creature Shop) and one side is humans (Tiffany & Marquette). Rounding out the main cast is Cookie's friend, Sally (Dretzin).

Brief Pilot Review:

It's hard to believe this show was on Broadcast TV in primetime in 1996. It's as juvenile as a 60s sitcom but without any of the charm or class. It feels more like a live action sitcom you might have seen at the time on something like Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel. The aliens are creepy and the humans are all bad actors. There is nothing creative or clever in the writing. They painfully go through some of the exposition at the beginning of the episode with incredibly stilted dialogue. I guess I didn't need to see what happened to get the family to this point but they sort of addressed it in the theme song. It definitely needed to be done in a better way than the dialogue that happened.

SCHEDULES OF THE PAST: 1995-1996 Fridays

On Tuesdays, I take a look at schedules from yesteryear. Here's a look at Fridays in the 1995-96 season!

ABC	8:00	8:30	9:00	9:30	10:00
Sep	Family Matters	Boy Meets World	Step by Step	Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper	20/20
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar		Muppets Tonight!	Aliens in the Family	Step by Step
Apr			Step by Step	Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper
May		Boy Meets World

ABC's TGIF lineup started the season with the same quartet of shows as the previous season. All four shows were youth driven and delivered well in that demographic but they were only modest ratings performers when looking across the entire TV landscape. Because TGIF was such an iconic brand and the shows have been well loved in the years since, it can be hard to remember that detail. In March, ABC attempted to shake up the night with two new entries while Boys Meets World and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper were slated to take a short break. Taking over at 8:30pm was Muppets Tonight, a variety show that was one of the first big Muppets project since the death of Jim Henson in 1990. Although the entire lineup was kid-friendly, this show was perhaps not the same type of kid-friendly and didn't really fit in with the sitcoms. It lasted 10 episodes on ABC and then Disney Channel picked up and ran the rest of the episodes after its cancellation. An even bigger flop aired at 9pm. Aliens in the Family was a family sitcom about a mixed marriage - a human dad and an alien mom. After ABC passed on 3rd Rock From the Sun, they picked up this one which also involved Jim Henson's production company. It lasted just two weeks before it was pulled from the lineup and eventually resurfacing on Saturday mornings. Check back tomorrow for a One Season Wonder post on Aliens in the Family! Family Matters star Jaleel White was critical of Muppets and Aliens joining the TGIF lineup because it turned a family night into a child night. The regular lineup was back in place in time for May Sweeps but ABC did change things up again for the Fall of 1996. 20/20 continued at 10pm all season.