Benjamonster's TV

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 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/...

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...

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 th...

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.

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 Mor...

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 scen...

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 ...

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 be...

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 J...

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 ma...

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 ...

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 beca...

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) Anso...

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...

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 rem...