Benjamonster's TV

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Family Ancestry! This Week's Episodes 227 #3 "Family Hero" (First Aired: September 28, 1985) Mary helps Brenda with a family ancestry assignment for school and discovers that they are related to a Civil War corporal. This is an early episode of 227  and only the second episode I've ever seen of the show (the other was a later one for Very Very Snowbound earlier this year). I think it's clear that the actors are still finding their characters and dynamics with each other. This episode would probably play a little different now because there probably wouldn't be nearly as much of an emphasis on the ancestor wearing a dress. But it was 1985, so it is what it is. ...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Séance! This Week's Episodes Cheers #191 "The Ghost and Mrs. LeBec" (First Aired: April 12, 1990) When Carla starts dating someone for the first time since her husband's death, she sees her dead husband's face everywhere so she decides to bring a fortune teller to the bar to hold a séance.  Cheers is an interesting show on this list. You didn't see a show like Cheers dabbling in a trope like seances very often. The show is usually "above" something goofy like that unless it has a particular purpose. I'm not 100% on board that they needed to do the séance scene to make this plot work. Although this is listed first (because I list shows alphabetica...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Home Stakeout! This Week's Episodes Coach #197 "The Neighbor Hood" (First Aired: April 23, 1997) Christine signs for a package for their Florida neighbors, who they don't really know, and then find out that they have the attention of the secret service. This is the last regular episode of Coach before the three part series finale. This episode is set up well because it plays into Hayden's reluctance to interact with anyone but when he finally does interact with the neighbors, after two years, they get embroiled in a stakeout. Unlike the rest of the episodes on this list, the agents actually want active participation from the sitcom characters we know and love. Tha...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Cooking! This Week's Episodes The Andy Griffith Show #43 "The Pickle Story" (First Aired: December 18, 1961) Andy and Barney scheme to keep Aunt Bee from knowing how terrible her homemade pickles are, but that backfires when she wants to make more and enter them in a contest. This is such a fun episode that's so well crafted. It amazes me how much mileage a well-written 1960s sitcom, like this one, could get out of a really simple plot that would probably be a "C" story at best in today's world. Instead, the story takes a whole bunch of turns and the potential resolution just keeps changing as Andy and Barney keep getting foiled with their planned resolu...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Little League! This Week's Episodes Bewitched #6 "Little Pitchers Have Big Fears" (First Aired: October 22, 1964) Samantha helps a shy young boy try out for his little league team in spite of his overprotective mother. This episode is very emblematic of the wonderful early years of Bewitched  when it was a totally different show from the wacky 60s sitcom it became. Sure, there was a little bit of witchcraft - the show is called Bewitched after all - but it was mostly a sweet and earnest story. There were strong guest appearances by June Lockhart (shortly after her run on Lassie ) as well as Jerry Mathers (The Beaver's) younger brother, Jimmy. It had some gentle humor,...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Ballet! This Week's Episodes Cheers #107 "Dance, Diane, Dance" (First Aired: December 18, 1986) Diane reveals she has been taking ballet lessons and the gang tries to keep her from finding out about a bad review from her ballet teacher. This episode is a fun showcase for Shelley Long not long before her departure from the series. It's also a funny mix of sweetness and humor because the gang at the bar does really look out for Diane while also relentlessly laughing behind her back. There was a nice choice to not show how bad Diane was on the video but just show the characters' reaction. It made it that much funnier. There's also a really great scene between Lon...

 Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very First Meeting! This Week's Episodes Coach #44 "When Hayden Met Christine" (First Aired: December 11, 1990) As Hayden gets ready for a charity event after breaking up with Christine, he reminisces about meeting Christine at the same event four years earlier. Hayden and Christine aren't one of my all-time favorite TV couples because I never felt like there was a ton of chemistry between Craig T. Nelson and Shelley Fabares, even if they're both pretty good characters in their own right. This episode also doesn't quite work for me because of how quickly Christine turns around on Hayden. She goes from being annoyed with him throughout the episode to being enamored...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very High Society! This Week's Episodes Happy Days #98 "My Fair Fonzie" (First Aired: November 22, 1977) Fonzie is interested in a snobby woman and she schemes with her cousin to embarrass him at the country club. I liked this episode of Happy Days because it put Fonzie in a little bit of a defensive and vulnerable position as opposed to the usual strategy of him saving the day. The show does a good job of keeping Fonzie out of the loop longer than normal to the point that it feels almost a little sad when he's at the party (even if the jokes are pretty predictable and repetitive). It actually elevates Fonzie's eventual heroics though Fonzie is a little more oblivious ...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Matchmaking! This Week's Episodes I Love Lucy #62 "Lucy is a Matchmaker" (First Aired: May 25, 1953) Lucy and Ethel set up their friend, Sylvia, with an eligible bachelor who is a friend of Fred's but Eddie thinks Lucy wants to date him. I've always thought this is an underrated episode of I Love Lucy . For one, it is one of the racier episodes of the show (racy for 1953 TV I mean). But more importantly, it really kicks into high gear when they get down to the hotel. The unique setting and madcap situations along with a strong guest turn by Hal March, makes the second half of the episode really strong. Even before the hotel scene, the writing sets up everything re...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Blackout! This Week's Episodes Bewitched #83 "The Short Happy Circuit of Aunt Clara" (First Aired: November 10, 1966) While babysitting Tabitha, Aunt Clara accidentally knocks out the lights for the entire East Coast thanks to a botched spell. Marion Lorne is such a treasure on Bewitched . She elevated every episode she was in and her comedic timing was on point even in her 80s. This episode starts out strong and gets a little silly as it goes on but I still love the madcap feeling throughout. It's one of Sandra Gould's better episodes but I just think about how much Alice Pearce's Gladys would have added to an episode like this. A sight gag with a grand piano...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Stock Market! This Week's Episodes Bewitched #55 "My Baby the Tycoon" (First Aired: January 20, 1966) The Kravitzes give newborn Tabitha a share of stock in Poughkeepsie Woolens. When it mysteriously starts to rise, Darrin suspects Tabitha had something to do with it. This is the first episode of Bewitched after Tabitha's birth and it's a very clever plot because none of the main plot actually involves witchcraft despite Darrin's suspicions. There are some witchcraft moments but it's all in visual jokes. The main plot is really all about paranoia and that creates some great moments for Dick York. It's also a great showcase for Alice Pearce and George T...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Back Injury! This Week's Episodes The Bob Newhart Show #27 "Backlash" (First Aired: September 29, 1973) Bob throws his back out right before a planned trip to Mexico with Emily that he was reluctant about going on to begin with. Bob and Emily Hartley have one of TV's most underrated marriages. There was such a grounded realness in their interactions with each other and this episode, while filled with comedy, also includes honest conversations between the two of them. Bob Newhart is a gifted comedian but being stiff is a little bit a part of his shtick so seeing him actually physically stiff proved that there is another layer he doesn't usually have. This was a wel...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Playwriting! This Week's Episodes The Bob Newhart Show #136 "Group on a Hot Tin Roof" (First Aired: January 28, 1978) The members of Bob's therapy group are upset when one of their group members writes a play with characters based on the other members of the group. This episode has a really funny conceit and is a great used of the therapy group that became more prominent characters in the later years of The Bob Newhart Show . There was very strong casting of the altar egos for the group members that really makes this work. There's also a rare moment of serious physical comedy from Bob Newhart in a side plot involving science experiments for Emily's school. The...

Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. This week's topic is  Very Very Pool Hustler! This Week's Episodes The Brady Bunch #116 "The Hustler" (First Aired: March 1, 1974) After Mike gets a pool table from his boss, Bobby becomes an expert in pool and takes on Mike's boss at a party. The penultimate episode of The Brady Bunch (and the last to feature Robert Reed) is a Bobby-centric episode that features Jim Backus in a guest role as Mike's boss. It sort of feels like nothing really happens though. The episode seems like its steering towards Bobby getting a comeuppance for his pool obsessions but then he just beats Mike's boss and the episode sort of just... ends? I'm used to my Brady Bunch episodes having a lesson attached! The...

This is a new feature on the blog that will run on Thursdays. Back in the mid-1990s, Nick at Nite ran a programming block on the weekends called "Very Very Nick at Nite," which looked at four episodes with a similar theme. Now I will look at four sitcom episodes from across the decades that have a similar plot or theme. We are starting, fittingly enough for early January, with Very Very Snowbound! This Week's Episodes 227 #57 "Snowbound" (First Aired: January 9, 1988) The residents gather in Mary's apartment during a blizzard. I believe this is the first full episode of 227 I've seen in my life. I felt like this was actually a really good episode to watch to get a sense of the characters and how they interact with each other since they were all in the same room for much of the episode. It had some funny moments and I always enjoy when characters play a board game together even if Monopoly predictably devolved into arguments. I Love Lucy #148 "Lucy i...