Category — 1980s

Hasbro Toys is coming out with a new line of My Little Ponies to celebrate their 25th anniversary. Some of the ponies will be designed by celebrities (like James Spader?). Who knew so many people loved plastic pony dolls?

I can’t remember whether I loved the dolls or the “My Little Pony” television show first, so I guess the cartoon worked its magic on me.

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The cast of the “Golden Girls” were honored at the TVLand Awards. Presenter Steve Carell introduced a touching montage of celebrities praising the show as a pop culture icon.

I never thought of it as a ground breaking show, but I suppose it did paint elderly people as fun and interesting subjects. Over the years, I became quite familiar with the adventures of Blanche, Sophia, Rose, and Dorothy. My favorite character is Blanche. She’ll do and has done just about anything. However when I think back, all the characters had their fair share of outrageous moments.

All seven hilarious seasons are available on dvd today.

More sad new today, The Weinstein Company are making a live-action “Fraggle Rock” movie.

Is nothing sacred? Are the 80s just pure fodder for film remakes? And why can’t they stay true to the original format? Not so long ago, if the original tv show had puppets, then the movie would obviously have puppets (i.e. The Muppet Movie). Or if it was a cartoon, then the movie would be a cartoon like with The Jetsons: The Movie. Honest and true to the source.

I don’t see the absolute need for a “live-action” interpretation. I really think movie audiences can handle the puppets. Plus, I’d much rather have it stick close to the original instead of turning into some bloated cgi-character mess like Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Source: I Watch Stuff

This sunday is Mother’s Day, so I feel I should spotlight some of my mom’s favorite tv shows.

Mystery/Suspense:
“In the Heat of the Night”
“Murder, She Wrote”
“Remington Steele” - got her seasons one and two for her birthday…
“Matlock” - no one can hate on the Griffith

Cop Shows:
“Walker, Texas Ranger” - Mom loved it before Conan made it “cool”
“Nash Bridges”
“JAG”
“Silk Stalkings”

The Soaps (every mom has “her show”):
“Knots Landing” - with Alec Baldwin! and William Devane!!

“Young and the Restless” - doesn’t everyone love this show, though?
“Days of Our Lives” - My mom finally learned how to dvr new episodes
“Another World”
“Falcon Crest”

Comedy:
“Martin”

“Living Single”
“The Cosby Show”
“Monk”
“A Different World”
“Empty Nest”
“Golden Girls”

But really, she’ll watch whatevers on USA and just leave it there. This sunday, I hope she gets the remote all to herself.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Another favorite show of my mom’s was “In the Heat of the Night”.

I had no idea it was based on a film (with Sidney Poitier, no less!) until I went to college. The tv show starred Carroll O’Connor (”All in the Family”) as the Chief Bill Gillepsie and Howard E. Rollins Jr(Ragtime) as Virgil Tibbs, Chief of Detectives. It tackled similar racial issues as the film. Both works strived to show how a southern white chief (despite his racist misgivings) could learn to work and respect his black lieutenant.

The show ran for eight seasons with half of the run on NBC and the other half on CBS. Regardless of the channel, it was on in my household for most of those years. My mom still watches the re-runs. So every time I catch an episode on TV Land, I remember all the times my mom would be curled up on the couch with her “In the Heat of the Night”.

“DuckTales” is another old school cartoon favorite of mine. It follows the adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his three nephews, Launch Pad — their bungling pilot, Gyro — the inventor, and Mrs. Beakley — the housekeeper. Scrooge & the gang travel the world seeking treasure and adventure. Meanwhile, The Beagle Brothers or Magica De Spell always try to steal Scrooge’s money either by breaking into the vault or casting a spell.

I can’t believe it was on for only three seasons (1987-1990). There are still episodes that are new to me airing on Toon Disney. I do remember watching the movie, DuckTales: The Treasure of the Lost Lamp), in theaters though back in 1993. And many days, the “DuckTales” video game was paused on my Sega Genesis (since there were no such things as memory cards back then). I bet the kids today would deem the show unfit for their plasma television lifestyle.

Watch the intro (with lyrics typed out!) here.

My mom introduced me to “Murder, She Wrote” since it was one of her favorite shows. Between Jessica Fletcher and Matlock, I thought everyone on tv could solve mysteries! After perusing the dvd seasons, I discovered that the show was on the air for 12 seasons!

The show follows the adventures of Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury), mystery writer and world class gumshoe. Somehow each week, she winds up solving crimes faster than the local police department. Whether on vacation or in her home town of Cabot Cove, Ms. Fletcher stumbles upon a confounding crime that only she is clever enough to solve.

If you don’t have a dvd player and/or the box sets, you can easily catch “Murder, She Wrote” almost everyday on the Hallmark Channel.

Back in the day, I loved this cartoon called “Fluppy Dogs“. After searching online to buy it on dvd, it turns out it wasn’t a series at all. I figure they must have showed the tv movie repeatedly on The Disney Channel, since I certainly remember watching it a bunch as a kid. The tv special premiered on November 27, 1986 on ABC.

I had no luck finding an official copy to buy, although I did find a blurry You Tube version.

I could probably buy a DVD-R that was burned from someone’s vhs copy. But I’d much rather have a Disney sanctioned dvd. What gives, Disney? I thought they loved money and would release just about anything from their library.