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...