That was a scene that happened many times during the run of Moonlighting, a show that went for four seasons on ABC starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd.
Set at teh Blue Moon Detective Agency, Maddie Hayes had lost almost all of her fortune to a crooked accountant and she was forced to work in one of the few businesses remaining, a detective agency. There, she met David Addison, a wise cracking, song singing, limbo dancing private eye who challenged her to expand her life.
Moonlighting is one of the best shows on TV. It also felt down to earth quicker than any show on TV. The whole “will they won’t they” aspect of the show kept the viewers glued to their screen, but, when they did, much of the magic was gone.
Still, David and Maddie were amazing together. Charming, fighting, arguing, detecting. They could do anything.
One of the things that they could do was break the fourth wall. This was one of the first shows that I specifically saw do this technique and I found it hilarious. Another specialty of this show was the special episodes… the dream sequences. They had a show called “The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice” where David and Maddie had dreams that they were musicians in an old time club. Another episode saw them dancing to “Big Man on Mulberry Street.”
But one of the greatest episodes of all time was “Atomic Shakespeare” which Maddie and David played the roles of Katharina and Petruchio in a satire of Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew.” This episode was written in iambic pentameter and was an absolute joy.
The last season and a half was much weaker, but the first two and a half was some of the best TV of all time. I remember planting myself in front of the TV every Tuesday night to watch Moonlighting… although their behind the scenes challenges and fights caused many of those nights to be a rerun.
When compiling this list, I debated between #3 and #2 for Moonlighting, and it could easily be flipped. Moonlighting made Bruce Willis a superstar and helped him get Die Hard.
“Blue Moon Investigations ceased operations on May 14, 1989. The Anselmo Case was never solved… and remains a mystery to this day.”
This episode, entitled “Screaming Meemies,” which was a slang term meaning a “heightened sense of panic or anxiety,” showed us the events of the night when Hugh took the kids and left the Hill House in the middle of the night. It was all from the perspective of Olivia, whose entire life had seemingly become a dream that she could not awake from.
I had not expected for the house to have driven her as mad as it did that she would try to awaken the twins (and Luke’s not-so-imaginary friend, Abigail) by having a middle of the night, surprise tea party, with tea laced with rat poison.
Poor little Abigail saved the day, in a sense, by sipping on her poisoned tea before the twins could, and she promptly died.
Much of this had been influenced by the ghost known as Poppy Hill, who showed up at the end of episode 7 to grab adult Luke when he tried to burn the house down. This Poppy was a nasty ghost who was planting the seeds of evil in the mind of the mentally ill Olivia, leading to this act of horror.
With this bit, in the penultimate episode no less, the last thing we need to discover from the past flashbacks, would be what happened when Hugh went back to the Hill House after he dropped his kids off at the motel. I am sure that will be included in the 70+ minute finale in episode 10.
We got to see the truth behind several of the odd things we had seen previously from Olivia, like the screwdriver she held at Hugh’s neck or breaking the mirror on the vanity that Steven had fixed up for her. Everything fit in nicely as we see the descent of Olivia into this house induced madness. We also see her “suicide”, aided by the push of Poppy Hill.
I expect that next week’s big finale will deliver big time, as this show has been truly firing on all cylinders the last four-five episodes.
Adrian Monk, the defective detective, slips into the number six slot in our top 10. Monk ran for eight seasons on the USA Network and helped garner star Tony Shalhoub three Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series.
Adrian Monk was a homicide detective who had a series of OCD and other fears. However, when he met his future wife, Trudy, those traits calmed down. Adrian Monk was brilliant, seeing things at crime scenes that no one else could. Tragedy struck when a car bomb exploded, killing Trudy and sending Adrian into a spiral of neurosis and depression.
Adrioan Monk slowly got back to doing what he did best, though the police force understandably doubted his ability to rejoin the force. So Monk would work as a consultant on the cases that no oen could solve.
Monk was both a comedy and a drama, doubling down on the problems Monk faced. He was afraid of heights, crowds, enclosed spaces, as well as milk, bees, germs, needles, mushrooms, lightning and MANY more The show listed 312 phobias that Monk suffered from during the show.
He was also very compulsive, with everything needing to be just right. Everything had its order and Monk spent time vaccuuming and cleaning to make sure everything was as it had to be. Adrian Monk knew how ridiculous he was, but he just could not get past these compulsions.
The best episodes though were the ones where Adrian Monk, despite his massive list of fears and eccentricities, was able to overcome and still be brillaint. Monk showed his own personal determination, even through some of the most harrowing moments for the defective detective.
Tony Shalhoub led the cast which included Bitty Schram, Ted Levine, Traylor Howard, Jason Gray-Stanford, Stanley Kamel, Emmy Clarke and Héctor Elizondo.
Based on the 1970 movie of the same name, M*A*S*H was a comedy/drama series (perhaps one of the earliest examples of a dramedy) based in the Korean War. It ran for 11 seasons on CBS. Pretty impressive for a war that only ran for just over three years. Truthfully, much of the show was based on the Vietnam War, which was still going on when the show started.
M*A*S*H was set at the 4077th M*A*S*H, which stood for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, and showed the humor, spirit and dedication of a group of doctors, nurses, coremen who faced death daily and battled while standing in blood. There were moments of complete jocularity, and then deathly serious moments as well. Some times in a matter of minutes.
Led by Hawkeye Pierce (Alan Alda), the cast of M*A*S*H was amazing. It included Mike Farrell, Wayne Rogers, Larry Linville, Harry Morgan, McClean Stevenson, Loretta Switt, Jamie Farr, Gary Burghoff, William Christopher, and David Ogden Stiers.
Teh first three seasons of M*A*S*H are my least favorite. Don’t get me wrong, these episodes are still very good, but my favorite time of the show was when BJ Hunnicut came to replace Trapper John and Col. Potter replaced Henry Blake. This time frame, while still with Frank Burns, is some of my favorite television ever.
These characters developed and changed over the run of the show. Margaret Houlihan changed the most, going from a one-note antagonist for Hawkeye and Trapper John, to a deep, three-dimensional character that was more than just what she started as.
The series finale was the highest rated shows ever on televison for years. It was entitled “Goodbye, Farewell and Amen.” It showed the final days of the Korean War and the departure for each of the main characters from the 4077th M*A*S*H.
M*A*S*H was one of the most original and brillaint shows on TV. I can sit down today and watch M*A*S*H, enjoying each episode.
I noticed some differences in these two episodes than I did int he previous ones. First, it seemed as if they got control of the laugh track. It was still there, but it was much more in control. It was not as loud as it was in the previous 16 episodes and I actually did not notice it for awhile. That was a HUGE item for the show.
Then, the comedy, which was always real bad in most of the first 16 episodes, wasn’t that bad here. It was still not the greatest comedy I ever heard, but it was considerably better. I did not cringe as much as I did in the first part of the season.
They had a new set, a diner where they could go for some of the backstage bits. It was much improved. We had way few of the ridiculous bits by some of the other members of the cast. I wonder if they let some of the others go.
These two episodes had the benefit of having guests that could sing. The first one was Johnny Ray, who I am not sure I knew, but who I was incredibly impressed with. He sang a song on the street set that was great. He was also singing it live. I was fascinated with the way he moved his mouth as he sang. No one would move their mouth like that if they were lip synching.
The second episode of the night had Chubby Checker, who sang Let’s Twist Again (Like We Did Last Summer). He was also clearly singing the song. Truthfully, there were some times he was screaming it. It brought a lot of energy to the show. There is no doubt that when the show has singers as guests, things just seem stronger.
They had a couple of comedy songs- first Rip Van Winkel and then My Baby Loves A Western Movie, and I have to say, I thought both were decent and had some funny moments. I really prefer the group on the stage or in the street set, but these comedy bits were fun too.
These episodes had some solid songs including All Shook Up, Poetry in Motion, Yakety Yak, and Earth Angel.
Things are looking up. Some of my biggest complaints from the first part of this season seems to have been addressed, and just turning that damn laugh track down is a major step in the right direction. Next episode looks to have Chuck Berry as a guest star so that means more music from the guest. That is the way to go.
May have been the scariest jump scare I have ever seen.
I was so engaged with the angry conversation going on between Theo and Shirley that I never once even considered that there would be something scary happen.
And when the ghostly figure of Nell screeched from the back seat, I literally screamed out. That rarely happened. The show got me good.
Prior to that, I was thinking what a group of douchebags these Crain kids were. I would go as far as to say that I really have grown to dislike both Steven and Shirley and their obnoxiousness.
I knew immediately that Luke was heading to the house. I am not sure why no one else thought of that right away, especially considering the weirdness that had been going on around the funeral parlor (last episode).
The whole knocking and doorbell ringing at that funeral parlor was creepy too, and it only served to make me dislike Shirley more. Dismissing this impossibility as kids playing pranks is just so short sighted that she was more embracing her own anger and resentments than able to see what was going on.
Then, the monologue from Theo after the jump scare was heartbreaking. The whole “I felt nothing” stuff was tough to listen to and, seemingly, finally got through the exterior of her sister.
By the way, last week’s episode had Hugh’s flashback heading through the Red Door, but nothing was mentioned or shown about that this week. That did not upset me as what we got was so excellent. Our flashback was Steven fixing up an old vanity for his mom. This was an important memory for Steven because it was proof for him about his mother’s madness, instead of one more haunted item in the Hill House.
Luke at the Hill House failing to light it on fire, only to be confronted by a vision of his mother in a red dress at the top of the stairs and the arrival of Rotten Polly, the owner of the said vanity.
There are two more episodes remaining and this series is absolutely hitting its stride. After this episode ended, which was the shortest run time of the series, I really wanted more.
Who thought that a TV Show based on a low budget, poorly reviewed film could spiral into seven seasons of television on the WB/CW?
The TV show took the idea from the movie and expanded upon it with Sarah Michelle Geller assuming the role of Buffy Summers. Buffy moved to a town named Sunnydale, which was located on a Hellmouth. This explained the variety of vampires, demons and monsters that would populate the town.
Buffy met and bonded with Willow and Zander, who became her backup and support. As the one slayer, Buffy had to deal with the responsibilities of protecting the world from the dangers of an apocalypse while trying to pass high school.
Buffy and Angel, a long lived vampire who had gotten his soul back, became the IT couple of the show, though fate was very much against them. Angel, played by David Boreanaz, wound up being spun off into his own show.
Rupert Giles was the stuffy librarian at the high school who was, in reality, Buffy’s Watcher. A Watcher would train and provide guidance to the current slayer. Giles quickly became connected with Buffy and the other “Scooby Gang” members, and he was more of a father figure than a trainer. Giles was portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head.
Spike was another vampire that Buffy had a relationship with. Spike was introduced to the series as an antagonist, but his popularity saw him return multiple times and eventually fall in love with the Slayer. It led to Spike regaining his own soul. Spike was just so cool.
There were amazing episodes with a ton of creativity over the seven seasons including one where everyone lost the ability to talk (“Hush”) and another one where Buffy finds the dead body of her mother Joyce (“Body”). Perhaps the greatest musical episode of all time was Buffy’s “Once More with Feeling” which saw a demon summoned to Sunnydale causing song and dance to break out across the city.
There have been talks about bringing the Buffy franchise back to TV with a new version that would include Sarah Michelle Geller in some form.
Kiefer Sutherland was Jack Bauer, an agent with the Counter Terrorist Unit Los Angeles Division (CTU). Jack had to deal with terrorists and dangerous situations to help his country. And every minute counted.
24 had a special gimmick. Every season, there were 24 episodes and each episode was told in real time. So the story unfolded over a 24 hour period and we saw how Jack Bauer and the other agents of CTU responded to these terrorist events.
The gimmick was really cool, but would never have lasted for the length of time that it did without that first season of 24. In the final scene of the first season, Jack discovered that his wife, Teri Bauer, who had been a major role in the season, had been killed by a mole inside CTU. The season ended with Jack cradling the dead body of his wife.
You do not end a season of TV in that manner. The hero does not face this level of anguish in the final scene. It proved to the viewers that absolutely anything was possible during these 24-hour days and that you could not afford to miss anything on the show.
Admittedly, as the show grew older, the show became more played out, and the show did seem to focus too much on Middle Eastern terrorists (accusations of Islamophobia were leveled at the show), but Jack would do absolutely ANYTHING in order to accomplish his goal. There were times when what Jack did was as shocking as anything the terrorist would do.A TV show protagonist just would not do what Jack Bauer did.
24 ran for eight seasons on FOX, which included a TV movie between season six and seven. There was also a new series called Live Another Day, which cut the season in half from 24 hours to 12 (episodes).
This is the show that many people made an account to Apple TV + for. Ted Lasso had three seasons on the streamer and was some of the best TV you were going to find.
Ted Lasso was a American football coach who was hired to move to England and coach football (aka soccer to us Americans), despite the fact that he had never coached the sport before.
There has never been a character like Ted Lasso on TV before. I binged the first couple of seasons because I was catching up with all the hype, and I can remember multiple times thinking to myself, “I wish I was more like Ted Lasso.” The constant positives and the humor that he faced every situation was inspiring.
Ted Lasso was played by Jason Sudeikis with such a perfect balance of zeal and down-home-charm. The rest of the cast around Ted was great as well. This included Hannah Waddingham, as team owner Rebecca Welton. Her story arc as the evil owner felt right out of “Major League,” except it took an entirely different path, completely unexpectedly. Bret Goldstein was Roy Kent, aging superstar player who had to come to terms with his skills slipping way. The relationship with Roy and Keeley Jones, played by Juno Temple, was one of the best storylines on the show.
Others on the show included Phil Dunster, Nick Mohammad, Brendan Hunt, Jeremy Swift, James Lance, Andrea Anders, Sam Richardson, Anthony Head, Cristo Fernandez, Annette Badland, Billy Harris, and Keeley Hazell.
Much like the Tick, Ted Lasso became known for his quotes, dubbed Ted Lasso-isms. Here are some of my personal favorites:
“Taking on a challenge is a lot like riding a horse, isn’t it? If you’re comfortable while you’re doing it, you’re probably doing it wrong.”
“If that’s a joke, I love it. If not, can’t wait to unpack that with you later.”
“I always thought tea was going to taste like hot brown water. And do you know what? I was right.”
“You know what the happiest animal on earth is? It’s a goldfish. You know why? It’s got a 10-second memory.”
“This woman is strong, confident, and powerful. Boss, I tell you, I’d hate to see you and Michelle Obama arm wrestle, but I wouldn’t be able take my eyes off of it either.”
“Sam was more open than the jar of peanut butter on my counter.”
“You beating yourself up is like Woody Allen playing the clarinet. I don’t want to hear it.”
“It’s just a group of people who care, Roy. Not unlike folks at a hip-hop concert whose hands are not in the air.”
“Your body is like day-old rice. If it ain’t warmed up properly, something real bad could happen.”
“I promise you there is something worse out there than being sad, and that’s being alone and being sad.”
“There’s two buttons I never like to hit: that’s panic and snooze.”
“I shouldn’t bring an umbrella to a brainstorm.”
“Don’t fight back. Fight Forward”
“He thinks he’s mad now, wait till we win him over. He’ll be furious.”
“I’m like an incomplete list of Madeline Kahn’s best films. I ain’t got no clue.”
“Well, fellas, if you’re looking for a pep talk from me, you’re in trouble. ‘Cause I’m like Michael Flatley at 11:59 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day, I’m tapped out.”
“I’ve had more psychotic episodes than Twin Peaks.”
“I do love a locker room. It smells like potential.”
“I’ve never been embarrassed about having streaks in my drawers. You know, it’s all part of growing up.”
“If the internet has taught us anything, it’s that sometimes it’s easier to speak our minds anonymously.”
“You two knuckleheads have split our locker room in half. And when it comes to locker rooms, I like ’em just like my mother’s bathing suits. I only wanna see ’em in one piece, you hear?”
“Here’s an idea that’s gonna help a little or hurt a whole lot. Who needs a drink?”
“Well, as my doctor told me when I got addicted to fettuccine Alfredo, that’s a little rich for my blood.”
“Guys have underestimated me my entire life. And for years, I never understood why. It used to really bother me. But then one day, I was driving my little boy to school, and I saw this quote by Walt Whitman, and it was painted on the wall there. It said, ‘Be curious, not judgmental.’ I like that.”
This is the third time that The Tick has made it on to this list. His live action show on FOX was first, then his live action show on Prime was next, and now is the show that, for me, started it all.
Yes, I know the Tick was from comics, but I had not owned any Tick comics when he debuted on FOX Kids Saturday mornings. My introduction to the character was from that animated series and it made the Tick, along with the other eccentric and wild characters from this world, one of my favorite shows ever.
Spooooooooooooooooooooon!
From sidekick Arthur to Chairface Chippendale to Man-Eating Cow to Barry, the characters were so fun, so funny and worth the time. This is the last time we would see Die Fledermaus and American Maid, as these characters did not appear in live action because of legal reasons.
There are a couple of notable episodes that I will never forget with minor characters (if you can call them that) that absolutely were sensations. Little Wooden Boy was Tick’s sidekick after a spat with Arthur. I wanted my own Little Wooden Boy, so badly. Then, there was Tick’s pet, Speak, the “dog” who was named because “that’s what you do.” Speak was actually a capybara, which is a rodent.
Blowhole, the Terror, Proto the Clown, El Seed, Dinosaur Neil, Thrakkorzog, the Breadmaster, Filth, The Evil Midnight Bomber that Bombs at Midnight… so many creative and extremely clever characters, some adapted from the comics, some seen first time on the animated show. The group of super heroes running around The City was as great too.
There were three seasons of this animated show and I waited patiently for each one. I loved this show so much. It gave me a character that I could completely relate to and it was as funny as any show on this list.
Creator and EYG Hall of famer Ben Edlund was behind the show, in all its forms. With all due respect to both Patrick Warburton and Peter Serafinowicz, the classic and all-time Tick performer was Townsend Coleman, who voiced the animated version in this show. Coleman’s voice was perfect for this character and was what helped this show become the cult classic that it is.
Because of this show, I spent many years finding Tick comics from New England Comics (thanks Todd) and the Tick is one of my favorite comic book heroes of all time.
The animated show provided some of the best quotes of all time… some of which I still use in real life.
“Gravity is a harsh mistress”
“You’re not going crazy. You’re going sane in a crazy world!”
“Four yaks and a dog. Laxative log. Susan.“
“You know, Arthur, when evil is afoot, and you don’t have any arms, you’ve gotta use your head. And when evil is ahead and you’re behind, you’ve gotta do the legwork. But when you can’t get a leg up, you gotta be hip. You gotta keep your chin up, and kick some-…”
“Eating kittens is just plain… plain wrong! And no-one should do it, ever!“
“Yeah, well, don’t count your weasels before they pop, dink!”
“Yes, destiny has her hand on my back, and she’s pushing.”
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.
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!
Had a run of four episodes of Sha Na Na tonight and I have the same complaints that I always have. The laugh track/applause track is just terrible. Honestly, the first 10-15 seconds of every song is impossible to hear because of the fake clapping. Second, the humor is terrible. This show is so much better when they have a musical guest so they can sing with Sha Na Na instead of doing this cringe-level comedy bits.
These four episodes only had one guest star that sang. It was Della Reese and that episode was the best of the four. It did have a pretty racist comedy bit called House of Kyoto, but other than that, this was the one.
I read a tweet awhile ago from Jon Bausman who spoke about the early season comedy being less than they had wanted. He said he thought it got better in later seasons. I sure hope so.
Fact is, when Sha Na Na is singing, this show is sensational. These four episodes had some bangers in them, including Mr. Bass Man, All I Have to Do is Dream, and Why Do Fools Fall in Love, which I believe are done multiple times over the years on the show.
The strangest song of the four featured Pamela Myers singing with Frank Gorshin, who was doing impersonations of celebrities like Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman etc. Gorshin seemed really weird during this segment, but it was interesting to hear Pamela Myers sing the song. It was in the old parked car bit that they usually run.
Other celebrities on these four episodes included Adrianne Barbeau, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Kristy McNichols, Rosey Greer and Milton Berle. I think they had taped more bits with Milton Berle when he was on the show earlier in the year and they just inserted them into this episode because at the end of the show, Bowzer did not thank Milton Berle for being on the show. He only thanked Rosey Greer. Why was Rosey Greer booked for the show?
Looking ahead, Chubby Checker and Chuck Berry are coming up soon. Those are the type of guests I want to see on Sha Na Na. More music, less of all the other background jokes.
This is the story of two sisters, Jessica Tate… and Mary Campbell. These are the Tates. And these are the Campbells. And this is… SOAP.
Confused? You won’t be … after reading about #28 on the Top 100, a satire/parody of soap operas that ran on ABC for four seasons.
I loved SOAP so much. The stories of the Tates and Campbells never came up lame. Whether it be about affairs, murders, gay love or demonic possession, SOAP was filled with great comedic performances and laughs.
In fact, I do not think I have ever seen an episode of TV that I laughed harder at than when the Tates and their butler Benson discovered that the baby was possessed by Satan. I know it doesn’t sound like high comedy, but it was so wonderful that you couldn’t help yourself.
The castlist was large and filled with some of the best actors in the business. Billy Crystal was on the show as TV’s first homosexual. Others in the cast included Katherine Helmond, Robert Mandan, Richard Mulligan, Cathryn Damon, Jimmy Baio, Diana Canova, Jay Johnson, Robert Guillaume, Donnelly Rhodes, Roscoe Lee Brown, Ted Wass, Jennifer Salt and Arthur Peterson Jr.
Moments leap out of my memory. When Burt thought he could turn invisible and would snap his fingers in front of him. When Benson, The Major and Chester went to attempt to save Billy from a cult and ended up in blackface pretending to be a band. Jessica going to heaven.
I think SOAP is one of the most overlooked TV shows in television history.
ADDENDUM
While I have been doing this list, there have been several times where I thought that I had forgotten a show, only to see it on th elist. I thought I had forgotten Frasier, but it was there. I thought I had forgotten Night Court, but it was there. This is the first show where I thought, “Did I forget this one” and I had forgotten this one. So I decided to give an addendum to SOAP’s entry because this spin off of SOAP would have definitely been in the Top 100 and I missed it.
Benson
Benson saw Robert Guillaume’s character benson, who was the Tates’ butler for three years on SOAP, moved to the governor’s mansion of the state (whichever one they were in) to become the head of household affairs. Benson DuBois (finally got a last name) enteracted with the bumbling Governor with a heart of gold, the overbearing German cook Gretchen Kraus, and the Governor’s sweetheart of a daughter, Katie.
Robert Guillaume won an Emmy Award for his role in this show.
Sunday night. I am hoping to get this done before IT: Welcome to Derry. We’ll see how it goes.
Books this Week:
Space Scouts #1. Written by Matt Kindt with art and cover art by David Rubin. I had no idea about this book. It was from Dark Horse and it was oversized, like a DSTLRY book. I grabbed it off the shelf and really enjoyed it. It was like a blend of Hunger Games/Squid Games/ Guardians of the Galaxy. Good stuff in issue one.
White House Robot Romance #2. Written by Chip Zdarsky with art and cover art by Rachel Slott. The romantic pairing of the two robots has lead to them on the run from the US government What will happen with this duo? Chip Zdarsky has brought us another solid story with some great characters.
Assorted Crisis Events #6. Written by Deniz Camp and art and cover art by Eric Zawdzki. This anthology series has had its ups and downs. This issue is an absolute up. The premise of the book is sensational, as there is a new illness that causes the victim to jump back and forth in age. It is strangely tragic and emotional. Maybe the best book of the week.
Planet She-Hulk #1. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Aaron Kuder. Cover art was done by Aaron Kuder & Sonia Oback. I was not a big fan of the Imperial, so I was not expecting to be a fan of this book. I have big questions about continuity. However, I really liked this book and, despite the fact that I am not sure where it actually falls in the Marvel Universe, but it was an enjoyable read.
Wild Animals #4. Written by Ed Brisson and art and cover art by Andy Kuhn (Silver Medalist). Once again, Wild Animals has been fabulous. This issue has some things happen here that I simply did not see coming. Wild Animals has been one of my favorite mini series of the year.
Amazing Spider-Man #15. Written by Joe Kelly with art by Emilio Laiso. Cover art was done by Pepe Larraz & Marte Gracia. This gives us some story about Peter’s new costume… oh, it is a living organism again. And he did not know that again.
Crownsville #1. Written by Rodney Barnes and illustrated by Elia Bonetti. Cover art was done by Jason Shawn Alexander. Another great new book this week, this one from Oni Press. The book features the story of a haunted state hospital called Crownsville. The art from Bonetti was the perfect tone for the story.
Laura Kinney: Sabretooth #2. Written by Erica Schultz and art by Valentina Pinti. Cover art was done by Elena Casagrande & Edgar Delgado. Age of Revelation continues X years in the future. Laura is facing plenty of troubles as Revelation ordered her to not allow the mutants to escape.
Longshots #2. Written by Gerry Duggan and Jonathan Hickman with art by Alan Robinson. Cover art was done by Ryan Brown. Who saw this coming? Three of our “heroes” are killed. Did not expect that, but it was a cool start.
Amazing X-Men #2. “A Duel of Truths” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Mahmud Asrar. Cover art was done by Mahmud Asrar & Matthew Wilson. Cyclops takes on the Darkchilde in an insult contest. It was strange, but was able to dive into character work for both of them.
DC KO: Knightfall #1. Written by Joshua Williamson with art and cover art by Dan Mora. The biggest shocker of the year… Batman, who died in DC KO, IS NOT DEAD. Who could have guessed? He wound up in some strange world where there are a bunch of Robins and Dick Grayson has taken over the Batman mantel. Trouble everywhere.
Speed Racer #4. Written by David Pepose and art by Davide Tinto. Cover art by Alessio Zonno. More racing action with Speed Racer, Racer X trying to prevent the Tiger Syndicate from winning the race. Little did they know that the Tiger Syndicate’s racer is on the path to try and kill Speed.
Vanishing Point #6. Written by Mark Russell and art by Ryan Alexander-Tanner. Cover art was done by Marcus To. This is the final issue of Vanishing Point, which I have enjoyed. There have been a lot of horror anthology books, having one with sci-fi was a great idea. The last story was not my favorite, but it had a great twist at the end.
Binary #2. Written by Stephanie Phillips and art by Giada Beluisa. Cover art was done by Richie Yagawa. Carol Danvers is shown how she is struggling with the Phoenix Force. The Age of Revelation moves on with the Marvel Universe.
Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu #14. “The Haunting of the Wrecker Part Three” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Domenico Carbone. Cover art was done by Davide Paratore. The Wrecker came to the Midnight Mission looking for help, and guilting Moon Knight for it. Oh, and Jake Lockley makes an appearance this issue.
Cheetah & Cheshire Rob the Justice League #4. Written by Greg Rucka and art by Nicola Scott. Cover art was done by Nicola Scott & Annette Kwok. It never works out for villain team ups. Cheetah and Cheshire have a falling out over Wonder Woman and it places the job in jeopardy.
Batman #3. “Crown of Storms” Written by Matt Fraction and art and cover art by Jorge Jimenez. The story has several lanes going right now including Vandal Savage making his move against Batman and Robin, The Riddler and his efforts, and Bruce Wayne trying to make amends.
Avengers #32. “Prodigals” Written by Jed MacKay and art by Farid Karami. Cover art was done by CAFU & Moreno Dinisio. The Avengers take on Kang… as well as the Marvel Zombies. Things do not look good for our heroes, until the cavalry arrives.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #40. “Webs of Regret Part One” Written by Cody Ziglar and art by Marco Renna. Federico Vicentini & Neeraj Menon did the cover art. Assessor is back. Miles is freaked out.
G.I. Joe #13. Written by Joshua Williamson and art by Tom Reilly. Variant cover art was done by Mark Spears (Gold Medalist). The Dreadnok War kicks off this issue with Destro giving the Dreadnok’s info on Cobra Commander, who is now handcuffed to Duke. Lots of trouble starting here.
Ice Cream Man: The Mortal Coil Shuffle. Ice Cream Man has had some amazingly creative ideas, but this one takes the cake (with some ice cream on the side). This is a deck of cards, but, instead of having playing cards, there is a story on the cards. I have not read this story yet, as I just got the card sheets to space it out this night at Wal-Mart (it is a Pokémon card holder) but I can’t wait to get a look at it. As I was putting the cards into the sleeves, there are some funny one in there including normal playing cards and some that look as if they come from UNO. On the back of the container, it specifically tells you not to shuffle the cards. LOL!
Rook Exodus #8. Written by Geoff Johns and art by Jason Fabok. Cover A art was done by Jason Fabok & Brad Anderson. I also picked up Cover C by Kael Ngu. Um… spiders everywhere. Creepy for sure.
Star Trek: Red Shirts #4. Written by Christopher Cantwell and art by Megan Levens. Cover art was done by Chris Shehan (Bronze Medalist). Man, the Red Shirts are dropping like flies. This one has some really solid work, making me care about the characters here just before they are killed. You’d think I would expect it.
Other books this week: Tales of the Shadowman #3, Impact Winter: Evenfall #1, No Place #1, Echo: Seeker of Truth #1, Alien vs. Captain America #1 and TexArcanum #4.
Quick Hits: I ordered another 10 pack of blind bags off eBay of The Monster and the Wolf #1. I wound up with 7 of the 10 that I did not have, which I was very excited about. Minor Arcana #11 keeps this story rolling along. I do love me some Jeff Lemire. Charlemagne Tha God Presents Illuminati #5 is the last issue, but I have missed number four. I am not sure how it slipped past me, but I have not yet read #5 because of it. In Gotham Academy #2, we get some time to spend with Olive’s mother, which is not a good thing. I grabbed Doctor Who: The Prisoner Paradox #1. I did love the fifteenth Doctor and this has him and Belinda Chandra in it. Ultimate X-Men #21 does feel like it is approaching the wrapping point for this book as the entire Ultimate Universe is up for a big crossover event soon. I need to find some new juice for Void Rivals #24 as I am really just skimming it as of right now. Godzilla (Kai-Sei Era) #4 has some good action and, unlike some of these other Godzilla books, has Godzilla in it. Eat Your Young #3 from Mad Cave feels kind of like Exquisite Corpses in a way. This was the first issue where I was into the book. Absolute Superman #13 also feels as if it is building to something big. We are making connections with Kal-El, Lois and Jimmy. Absolute Green Lantern #8 has been one of my least favorite Absolute books, but this issue was very curious. It caught my attention for sure. The UPC codes are all over Look Into My Eyes #4. I have not scanned one as of this moment. Finally, a team-up book from Dynamite Comics called Die!Namite #1 came out this week. Vampirella is here. So is Miss Fury. There are some other characters who I am not sure about.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 