Daily Countdown: TV Shows #20
#20
The Big Bang Theory
As we enter the Top 20 remaining in our Daily Countdown, we come to a sitcom that ran for 12 seasons on CBS.
Bazinga!
The Big Bang Theory was the story of a group of four geeks, all incredibly smart scientists, engineers and physicists, who love geek culture, playing D & D, and comic books. We follow these four men, Leonard Hofstadter, Howard Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali and Sheldon Cooper, through their lives, loves and shenanigans.
There are people I know who hate The Big Bang Theory because of their portrayal of the main characters as geeks. They say it is insulting to the geek community. While they are welcome to that opinion, I disagree. It is a sitcom and the characters are exaggerated. It’s like saying that detectives should be mad about Monk or that doctors should be offended by Doogie Howser.
The center relationship of the show is Leonard and Sheldon, who are roommates. Sheldon is, let’s say, difficult to deal with, yet Leonard continued to put up with his craziness. When Penny (no last name) moves in next door, Leonard fall for her hard. Other love interests were introduced into the show as regulars: Bernadette Rostenkowski, who would wind up marrying Howard, and Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler, whose relationship with Sheldon would be a major focus of the last half of the show’s run.
The relationship with Howard and Bernadette, for me, really saved the character of Howard, who I disliked for much of the early seasons. He was so creepy so often that I just did not understand why the others wanted him around. Still, Howard had his moments and became one of my favorites as he became a husband and father.
The show had a regular set that was a comic book shop, which I always find awesome. The comic book shop owner, Stuart, eventually became a regular, and is reportedly part of a spin off of the show coming sometime over the next year or two.
The cast included Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik, Melissa Rauch, and Kevin Sussman. Recurring actors to appear on the show included such stars as Kathy Bates, Bob Newhart, Sara Gilbert, Sean Astin, Wil Wheaton, Jerry O’Connell, Teller, and Stephen Hawking. There were also a bunch of cameos of people as themselves including Stan Lee, Leonard Nemoy, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, Levar Burton, Kareen Abdul-Jabbar, James Earl Jones, Kevin Smith, Nathan Fillion, and many more.
EYG Favorite Comic Covers of the Week
November 20
Okay, this was an absolute EPIC week for covers.
Seriously, as I start typing this, I am not sure which of the FOUR covers that will earn a medal this week (yup, a tie) is going to get the GOLD. When I first separated the books, I had chosen 16 comics as potential medal winners. Then, it took some real soul searching to decide which ones were out. That was after I had decided to make there be a tie.
Here are the others this week that did not make the cut…
Also-Rans: Batman Deadpool #1 (variant C- Doom and Joker), No Man’s Land #3, Exquisite Corpses #7 (Claire Roe Stealth Variant), Spawn: The Dark Ages (Virgin Variant), Final Boss #1, Pecos bill and the Guns of Oz #1, One World Under Doom #9, Radioactive Spider-Man (Variant Cover C), Terrorbytes #2, Everything Dead & Dying #3, Red Book #2, The Twilight Zone #2, Hello Darkness #16, and Space Ghost #5. WHOO.
And now… I have finally made my decision for the medal rounds. This was the toughest week I have had in a long time… and it has become a special week where HISTORY was made. The first ever TIE FOR THE GOLD MEDAL!!!
Bronze Medalist
Nova Centurion #1
Foil Variant Cover C
Cover art by Ivan Shavrin
I already had a copy of Nova Centurion #1 (the A Cover) and then I saw this on the shelf. It was just a gorgeous foil variant and I could not help myself. I honestly thought this was going to be the GOLD medalist this week, and it only could muster the bronze. It got dropped because of the gimmick.
Silver Medalist
High Strangeness #2
Cover art by Noah Bailey
What a beautiful cover. The snow storm surrounding this man who looks to be confronting some kind of creature with red eyes that blends into the blizzard. This was another book that I thought deserved a GOLD Medal but came up short to two other books this week. This would have won the race in many other weeks, but not this week.
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER… A TIE FOR THE GOLD MEDAL!!!!!!!!!
Gold Medalist
No Man’s Land #3
Antlers Variant Cover C
Cover art by Szymon Kudranski
I first thought this was an homage to The Thing, but it turned out it was an homage to Antlers. I have been a big fan of the horror homages Feral has been doing this year, so this really attracted me. What a stunning cover. Szymon Kudranski has hit the heights with this No Man’s Land Series. I believe it won a Gold medal three times now. What book could compete with this awesome cover?
Gold Medalist
Mark Spears Monsters #4
Second printing
Witching Hour Homage
Cover art by Mark Spears
If there was going to be someone who ties for the GOLD medal for the first time ever with the HOT No Man’s Land artist Szymon Kudranski, it’s gonna be 2025’s eventual cover artist of the year, in Mark Spears. He had another multiple printing book this week that could have been in the medalist too (I should have added that one to the Also-Rans). Love this cover with the skeleton Santa Claus. Spears never seems to miss.
What a week of covers. The year is coming to close soon, and it feels as if the cover artists are bringing their best yet!
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping teaser trailer
Daily Countdown: TV Shows #21
#21
Laverne & Shirley
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!
Schlemiel! Shlimazel!
Hasenpfeffer Incorporated!”
Two girls debuted on Happy Days as a blind date for Richie Cunningham. Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney made a couple of appearances on Happy Days and, from that, wound up in their own spin off series on ABC that lasted for eight seasons.
Channeling their inner Lucy Ricardo and Ethel Mertz, Laverne and Shirley had amazing chemistry with each other and were unbelievable with physical comedy. Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams had found that perfect balance with each other that when Shirley stepped away from the show, you could feel the hole.
The show included the breakout characters of Lenny and Squiggy, played by Michael McKean and David Lander. “Hello” became a huge quote from the show as Lenny and Squiggy burst through the door.
The characters went from Milwaukee bottle cappers to Caliofornia girls. Over the years Laverne & Shirley were placed in all kinds of funny situations and they were always up to it with the power of friendship.
Dodger Acrostic Poem
Dynasty incoming
Ohtani, Freddie and Mookie
Dominating the NL
Glasnow, Snell and Kershaw
Everyone bought in
Roberts manages his players
Singles, Doubles, Home runs
Will Smith, Pages, and Kiki
Over the fence, into the gap
Running
Leaping
Diving
Champions back to back
Hernandez, Kim and Roki
All stars and future hall of famers
Max Muncy, Vesia and Yamamoto
Playing at Chavez Ravine
Superstars
Daily Countdown: TV Shows #22
#22
WKRP in Cincinnati
“I almost forgot, fellow babies…… BOOGER!”
And with that, WKRP went from an elevator-music playing radio sttion in the greater Cincinnati area to a rock ‘n roll station with some of the most eccentric characters you are ever going to find.
WKRP in Cincinnati was a CBS sitcom that aired for four seasons. Some of the funniest moments on television originated on WKRP.
The cast ensemble was tremendous. Gary Sandy, Howard Hessman, Loni Anderson, Gordon Jump, Tim Reid, Frank Bonner, Jan Smithers and Richard Sanders were amazing in their roles. Each person brought something special to the crew.
I can’t talk about WKRP in Cincinnati without talking about “Turkeys Away” which is maybe my favorite sitcom episode ever. Station Manager Arthur Carlson wanted to get involved in promotions so he came up with a Thanksgiving plan that no one ever forget. He rented a helicopter and dropped live turkeys over the parking lot of the Pinedale Shopping Mall. The turkeys crashed to the ground, as newsman Les Nesman watched on horrified. Actor Richard Sanders delivered the iconic line, “OH MY GOD THEY’RE TURKEYS!”
DJ Dr. Johnny Fever added, as Les’s connection was lost, that the “Pinedale Shopping Mall has just been bombed with live turkeys… fim at 11.”
Tying the event into the crashing of the Hindenburg was brillaint. Finally, the episode was finalized with the line from Mr. Carlson that would live in infamy.
“As God is my witness I thought turkeys could fly.”
I watch this episode as my Thanksgiving tradition every year.
WKRP in Cincinnati struggled for ratings during its time on CBS, but the show’s quality was obvious to anyone who watched it.
Bonus Action Vol. 3 E7
Untraveled S1 E3 DAY 3
Daily Countdown: TV Shows #23
#23
Monday Night RAW
January 11, 1993 at the Grand Ballroom at the Manhattan Center, a show debuted on the USA Network. 33 years later, Monday Night RAW is live weekly on Netflix, nearing its 1700th episode.
RAW has been a major influential show among the pro wrestling world. Created by Vince McMahon, RAW was shot live and dealt with storylines as they went.
Over the years, RAW has been on USA Network, Spike TV, and Netflix.
It had some of the greatest memories of WWE wrestling over the years. Just a few included:
- Mankind (Mick Foley) defeating the Rock for the WWE Championship thanks to a chair shot by Stone Cold Steve Austin (Still the largest “pop” by a crowd I have ever heard).
- D-Generation X invading rival wrestliong company WCW in a tank.
- CM Punk’s “pipebomb” promo
- Stone Cold Steve Austin’s confrontation with Mike Tyson
- The SHIELD collapsing when Set Rollins turned on his brothers in the SHIELD.
- Shane McMahon showed up on Monday Nitro to official purchase WCW out from under his father.
- Edge and Lita had a “live-sex celebration”
- The Dudley Boys put 80 + year old Mae Young through a table off the stage.
- Mr. McMahon’s limosine exploded… with him inside!
- Brian Pillman brings out a gun to prevent Stone Cold’s home invasion.
- Chris Jericho debuts, interrupting the Rock, bringing Y2J to the WWE.
- Mick zfoley hosts “This is your Life” for The Rock.
- Triple H reveals that he had married Stephanie McMahon in Vegas.
After 33 years, the show continues to surprise and create the controversy necessary for headlines to be made.
Live Action Moana teaser trailer
Daily Countdown: TV Shows #24
#24
Boston Legal
Denny Crane….
Boston Legal was a spin off of The Practice on ABC that ran for five seasons. It spun off the character of Alan Shore, who arrived in the final season of The Practice. Played by James Spader, Alan was a morally-compromised lawyer with a heart of gold who was happy to take on any seemingly unwinnable case.
He was paired with Denny Crane, a legend of a lawyer who, at times, just had to say his name to express his power. Denny Crane was played by Willaim Shatner in the most over-the-top manner. Spader and Shatner had the most amazing chemistry and comedic timing with each other. The show realized quickly what they had with this pairing and turned them into the biggest bromance ever seen on TV.
The show, produced by David E. Kelley, was set at the Boston law firm, Crane, Poole & Schmidt. The firm tackled every case imaginable, including against tobacco, big pharm, and the US Government.
Denny Crane was as eccentric as imaginable, but he was dealing with the early onset of Alzheimer’s Disease, which he would joke was Mad Cow, and the struggle of someone as larger than life as Denny Crane not being as in control than he once was.
The cast changed over the five seasons, but it included Candace Bergen, René Auberjonois, Julie Bowen, Mark Valley, Gary Anthony Williams, John Larroquette, Christian Clemenson, Constance Zimmer, Lake Bell and Rhona Mitre.
One of the features of the show was the big final argument that the lawyers, especially Alan Shore, would deliver to the jury in their weekly case. Always compelling, the closing argument highlighted the issue of the week.
Boston Legal was funny, dramatic and worked on multiple levels.
IT: Welcome to Derry S1 E4
Spoilers
“The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet’s Function”
Hm.
We got the origin of Pennywise, or the Galloo, what the Native American people called it. I’m not sure that I understood how everything happened. I guess the town of Derry was built inside the circle that they trapped it in.
I like Charlotte a lot. She went to the police in order to try and talk with Hank, Ronnie’s father. She is able to get in to see him, and we find out why he is lying about his alibi, and it was not connected to Pennywise. It was the racism of the time as he was having an affair with a married white woman.
The most horrific moment of the week was when Marge tried to use a table saw to cut out her extended eyeballs, thanks to her fear of her glasses making her eyes look like they bulge out. We heard about that in episode one or two and now it pays itself off. It was a scene where I was literally screaming for Marge to not do what she was going to do.
Of course, poor Lilly, who saved Marge’s life, is made to look like she had attacked her, as the entire lunchroom came to see the events. Not a good look for Lilly.
Dick used his shining to get inside the head of Daniel to find out about the pillars, which apparently are in the IT house where we know the well is located.
We are now half way through the season and we have yet to see clown Pennywise. However, the previews for upcoming weeks had some horrible scenes featuring Pennywise, so he is coming.
Oh, those floating red balloons… creepy!
Being Eddie
I watched a second Netflix documentary tonight, this one much more upbeat that the previous one. I saw the Netflix documentary on Eddie Murphy’s life and career called Being Eddie.
We follow through the career of Eddie Murphy, with his own words. There are plenty of moments of Eddie Murphy talking about the aspects of his life, from SNL to Beverly Hills Cop to his Oscar nomination back to SNL.
There are a bunch of other comedians who appear as talking heads on the doc to speak about Eddie’s success and his career. Others in the doc included Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, Arsenio Hall, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, Pete Davidson, Jamie Foxx, and Tracy Morgan. We meet Eddie’s older brother, Charlie Murphy, who resembled his brother considerably. The doc interviewed writer Barry Blaustein as well as film director John Landis.
The doc was filled with nostalgia over the early days of Eddie’s career. Flashes from SNL and his early movies were great. They spent time on the joke on SNL by David Spade that ticked Eddie off. They touched on the film Norbit, which is widely considered to have cost Eddie an Academy Award for Dream Girls.
They talked about his recording of “Party All the Time” and showed clips of Eddie on different talk shows.
The doc was very fun. It certainly was not deeply in-depth. It did not dive too much into the deep problems and when it brought up difficulties, they were just touched upon.
Still, it was a fun watch and a nice palate cleanser after the rougher “The Perfect Neighbor.”
3.5 stars
The Perfect Neighbor
There is a new documentary on Netflix called The Perfect Neighbor and it was a tough and sad story.
According to IMDB, “A minor disagreement between neighbors in Florida takes a lethal turn, with police body camera footage and interviews probing the aftermath of the state’s controversial “stand your ground” laws.”
The shots of the doc were mostly from police bodycam recordings. It made for a fascinating narrative for both the people involved in the case as well as the way that the police handled the situation.
Some of the scenes were very tough. When the news arrived at the scene that the woman had died, watching the pain of the family was very difficult.
The film does not go into the “Stand Your Ground” laws very much. It could have been more time spent on that, though it did not necessarily fit with the format of the doc.
The Perfect Neighbor is a warning sign for the division we have in our country. It was a shame that we can’t be more understanding in our world.
4 stars
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 