ljenkins782

AntennaTV is still running this, so I'm going to post on top of myself to the 3 people who might open this topic. 🙂 My DVR caught "Murphy's Pony" the other day and the ending of this one is so ludicrous (though the premise is too). Basically, a poor single mom feels she can't care for her kids and leaves them at the FYI office with a note for Murphy to take them. Through typical sitcom shenanigans, Social Services can't get them til Monday or whatever, so she ends up with them for the weekend and ends up not giving them back to the Social Services lady when she comes for them. Then the mom shows up to collect them (where her "I can't care for them" philosophy went, who knows?) and Murphy offers her some money, which she tries to turn down under the guise of "Oh, I couldn't possibly and as long as we're together, we'll be okay." Um...you LEFT YOUR 3 KIDS WITH THIS STRANGER FOR FOREVER at the beginning of the episode, but taking some money from the very same person is suddenly just too much for your personal pride?? It's such cheap, stupid writing that I felt the need to say so 30 years after the fact. 😛

It's a shame they had so many technical difficulties, it made it less fun than it should have been, but still worth a watch for a scene of DHP doing a bit on Suddenly Susan in the early 90s as an accountant who wants to be on Broadway (around the 16 minute mark, if you want to see it). A perfect encapsulation of DHP's talents. DHP seems like such a lovely man. I sometimes wonder how things were behind the scenes given that Kelsey Grammar has had known substance abuse issues and his crazy personal life (4 or more wives, I think). I feel like some of that had to have bled into the working environment, but none of them have ever really alluded to it, as far as I know. Jane Leeves and Peri Gilpin both look incredible, I just looked it up and they're both 59 but they look far younger. That is one of my all-time favorites. It's amazing from start to finish. "what was the purpose of your visit to Canada?" Niles: "[long pause]...fun" with the grumpiest expression of all time. Hilarious.

I actually think Carlene could have been a decent character, but it was an untenable situation with the departure of Delta and Jean. On a fresh show or as an add-on to the originals, she might have worked, but as a replacement? No. The Allison character was a non-starter, you can't have a character with no redeeming qualities. Suzanne had her negative qualities and was probably not someone Mary Jo and Charlene would have CHOSEN to be friends with if not for Julia and the business, but she certainly had her redeeming qualities. And most of all, the character was funny, even when being obnoxious. They failed to write comedy into the Allison character. I've only seen a few episodes with BJ so I can't judge the character, but I don't care for the actress so that was another no for me. Add in the weird choice to make Mary Jo a mini-Julia (a complete departure from the original character) and those last seasons are unwatchable.

There were some great episodes/scenes around that break-up though, the terrible dinner party episode, the one where Will is being sued and Corky reads her journal out loud to clear him and insults everyone in the process, and the market episode where she sees Will's picture with Cher in the National Enquirer. In rewatching some of the older episodes, I don't always like the secretary gag. It's funny when the person is completely out there, but Murphy is extremely rude to them before they even get a chance to speak, most of the time. It's supposed to be funny because she's the star of the show, but working for rude, demanding people is awful in real life. On that note, I really enjoyed the later season episode where they're locked on the balcony and Murphy's just-fired secretary comes back for her things and taunts them from inside the building. That seems like something Murphy would deserve for the way she talked to people over the years. That episode is pretty good except for the couple in the apartment across the street who are supposed to be breaking up and decide to give it another shot by the end. I don't mind the premise, but the acting by the couple was so, so bad. Very over-projecting, playing-to-the-last row, community theater level acting and it's very distracting to see people acting SO HARD up close.

Yeah, that's a crock. They recently did a marathon of episodes on Antenna TV and there was a run of episodes that were PAINFULLY relevant. There was the political correctness episode, which lays waste to the theory that people have only recently become "too sensitive" or "snowflakes." The episode aired nearly 30 years ago and the jokes could just as easily have been written yesterday. There was also the one where Stuart Best changes parties to win a Republican seat in Congress and says all kinds of crazy shit due to the people who paid for his campaign. His lines got more and more outlandish, but unfortunately for us, it didn't sound that much crazier than the statements being made regularly by political figures today. It actually made me sad that the episode wasn't nearly as far-fetched as it should have been. I'm finally dipping into the season 7 and beyond episodes, I never saw those back in the original airings. They're definitely not as good as the earlier ones, but not as bad as I was expecting. There are some decent episodes mixed in there. The Miles/Corky relationship doesn't really work for me, they have the same lack of romantic chemistry that Niles/Daphne had on Frasier. They did an episode where they addressed the fact that they got married on a whim and then didn't consummate the relationship for like 4 months and that seemed realistic to me, it just seemed like the sex would be incredibly awkward.

Very sorry to hear of David Schramm's passing. I agree that it was a bold and funny choice to make him such an unrepentant character. There was one moment very early on (the fishing trip/Trivial Pursuit* episode) where he briefly lets his guard down with Joe about no one wanting him around, he mostly wore his asshole behavior with no apologies. *The "Ann-Margret as every answer in Trivial Pursuit" theme in that episode cracks me up to no end. I had a similar theory on Trivial Pursuit back in the day, any clue that used the word "crooner" was ALWAYS Frank Sinatra and there was another descriptor was always Oscar Wilde, but I can't remember what it was anymore. Some of my favorite Roy moments are small things, like when some guys dressed as the 3 wise men approach his counter, the way David Schramm turned around and half snorted/half muttered "what the hell are you..." is hilarious. And pretty much his behavior in the entire episode where Brian drags them all to a timeshare golf resort in Florida is peak Roy. That's an interesting point about the Alex character. She was my least favorite character of the series, closely followed by that terrible actor that they tried to replace the Lowell character with. Farrah Forke was an incredibly wooden actress to begin with, but she was given stupid dialogue on top of it. And somehow, her crappy acting dragged down the other actors, Tim Daly and Steven Webber were consistently good, but the storylines involving Alex somehow lowered the comedic bar across the board. The only episode in the Alex era that I really like is the one with Helen, Alex, and Antonio having a "girl's night" but most of that is just Helen and Antonio being funny on their own, the third person could have been anyone and I still would have liked it. Yeah, I'm not usually a fan of the way overused "destroy someone's happy relationship because you believe you're THE ONE" trope or the above mentioned "man ignoring a woman's no's" bit, but this was exceptionally well done. First, it wasn't some loser chasing after someone who'd never had any interest in him and forcing her to consider him, they'd been in a serious relationship before and Helen's relationship with Davis wasn't 100% solid (I wonder if he hadn't been so incredibly rich, if he would have been that appealing), and Tim Daly's acting really elevated the scene. He really sold the despair at realizing that Helen was truly going to be gone forever and the elevator scene is so beautiful.

Exactly. It was all about her pride and the fact that she found it totally acceptable to impose on Blair for an indeterminate length of time but refused to take financial help was annoying. I watched the episode where Charlie (Jo's dad) wins a magazine sweepstakes for $300,000 and even accounting for the lower cost of living in the 80s vs now, the math in that episode just did not add up. He bought Jo a mink (seems like the ultimate waste of money considering Jo's usual wardrobe) that cost $25,000, in addition to buying cars, renting office space for no reason at all, and spending money on a million other things. He ended up "losing" it all in some investment, but I don't see how he even had any money to invest. Also, he was like "when you have money, people want you to invest in things so you need a place for them to call" as a reason for leasing an entire office in New York, but really, was $300,000 such an incredible pot of wealth? I mean, it was a fictional sweepstakes on a fictional show, why not just make it a million dollars?

Ah, okay. I tend to skip all of the graduation episodes, they just don't hit the right notes for me most of the time. I just assumed it was more like what @Snow Apple said, she saw it as being 'independent' despite having a safety net. It's pretty funny to me that Natalie would be outraged about her mom not supporting her, since she seemed to equate struggle with "real life" that she felt she needed in order to be a writer. Her ideas about being a writer were pretty much on par with Tootie's idea of being an actress, it was like they picked something in junior high and just went through life announcing that that was what they'd be, without ever really knowing what either one was about. I wasn't bothered by her or by Andy because I liked both of them and found them funny. It added something to the show for me, unlike Shaun Cassidy's character, Pippa, Kelly the punk kid, or even George Clooney's character, which is really only notable because of what he would go on to become. Mrs. Garrett's role in her latest seasons was not only diminished, it was all over the place. She's in school, she's got a friend accusing her of sleeping with her late husband, she's got some old boyfriend coming back into her life from Wisconsin, who I believe is a DIFFERENT old boyfriend from the one she ended up marrying and going to the Peace Corps with...it was all so disjointed. There was a spate of episodes between seasons 6 & 7 that seemed like genuine standalone pieces and not part of an ensemble series. I'm not sure if that was intended to disguise the absence of Charlotte Rae, but the weirdness of those episodes hurts the show way more than no Mrs. Garrett would have, since she wasn't even close to being a focal point of the show by that point. I do think the barbs between her and Blair were mutual and ultimately good-natured (though Blair was able to cross that line into sincerity more often and more believably, considering she's the more fortunate one in life, it makes sense that she could cross the aisle a little easier), but the chip on the shoulder part about Blair's wealth was annoying in the ways that she put her pride above all other considerations. There's the example I posted earlier about her holding up the construction on the room that the 4 of them were building because she couldn't bear to even take a loan, but there was also the time that she lost her financial aid and didn't have a room at Langley. She refused any kind of financial help, but had no problem crashing on the floor of Blair's single room, inconveniencing her, and eventually getting Blair in trouble with the dorm board despite her being a paid up resident.* *That dorm monitor bit cracked me up. I still want to know if that was a thing into the 80s, I think there was such a thing as a housemother or dorm monitor type role earlier in the century, but I have to imagine it had mostly become obsolete by the 80s. I had an extra bed in my triple dorm room when someone dropped out mid-semester and we had guests sleeping in our extra bed or all over the floor on a regular basis and no one ever asked/cared whether they were students or not.

The Roku Channel has switched over to the final seasons (they had 1-6 for a long time and now just have 7-9) and the episode with Stacey Q and the Broadway audition is the most ridiculous part of the entire "Tootie the actress" series arc. Someone who has wanted to be a professional actress for her entire life is SHOCKED to discover that: lots of other people will be auditioning; those other people will likely be very talented; the process is cutthroat; that she's not the strongest singer. I mean...duh. Anyone who has devoted their life to the performing arts would have reached all of the above conclusions even at a regional theater level, let alone Broadway. And yeah, Kim Fields is no singer, so I wonder why they were always featuring her in musical theater pieces. You can act without singing. I know these episodes aren't the most popular of the series, but I still enjoy the series up to the end. There are a lot of really memorable gems and Tootie and Natalie got a lot better acting-wise by the end. And Cloris Leachman is much better comedically than Charlotte Rae was, so that substitution (contrived as the circumstances were) works for me. Pippa was a bit of a low point, but she's not in that many episodes. Today I watched the episode where they decided to convert that attic into a room for Tootie and Natalie and a couple of things bugged me. Jo's whole "I don't take money from Blair" thing is fine and all when Blair's trying to pay for her outright, but they were on a deadline to get this room finished and once the bank turned Jo down for a loan, Blair offers to LOAN her the money and she gets all shitty again. I get the "I don't take charity" thing as a principle, but you're going to hold up the plans of 3 other people while you scrape together a plan? Or you borrow the money now, same as you would from a bank, and then pay it back after the room is done. I strongly doubt money would become an issue between them when it was pocket change for Blair and I'm sure Jo would have been motivated to pay it off as soon as possible. The other weird thing was Natalie needing to work extra hours at a cannery to get her $500. Wasn't she always portrayed as a wealthy, boarding school girl? I know she went on her kick of thinking she needed to work to get life experience for a writing career, but I didn't think that meant she cut herself off entirely from any help from her mother. Tootie never appears to have a job, but she never batted an eye at the cost of the renovation, so it doesn't seem unheard of it to still be getting money from the parents. I also watched The Little Chill and while Sue Ann was ALWAYS annoying (and a bad actress), her behavior in this one really takes the cake. Besides the fact that she was full of shit the whole time, who the hell wants to be friends with someone who comes marching in spouting about all of their (alleged) accomplishments that way? In real life, that'd be the friend whose number you'd "lose" immediately after that reunion. One more random observation is that I kind of like most of Beverly Ann's outfits. She never went for the big shoulder pads or any of the other hideous 80s fashions and her outfits would fit right in if she wore them today. That's why it's better not to be trendy, go for classic clothes and you can wear them as long as you can fit into them. 😛

I liked Oliver admitting that it's embarrassing to have to keep saying that he's too poor to do things. He's always acting so above it all so it was interesting to see him admit to that insecurity. Cooper is strangely likable, I feel like I should find him annoying, but I don't. Oliver too. The writing for him is the most consistently funny and he delivers his lines well, unlike most of the rest of them. Can Katie every deliver a line without spitting it out with a sneering head toss? It's so cartoonish.

The outtakes were great. I find the Greg character annoying, but I've always liked the actor. It was funny to watch him go from the dork character into his real life persona. Yeah, sitcoms have a long history of pretending that social circumstances can change on a dime (like Franklin suddenly seeming "cool" for playing the piano and singing after being a weirdo at a party). Nothing about that prom situation would ever happen, starting with her calling the help line about her "problem" to begin with. But the ending was cute with the dancing in the driveway.

Ugh, hard pass on a reboot. As for Dixie, I don't know where I watched this interview but I think it was with Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and the impression I walked away with was that Dixie was far closer to the Suzanne character IRL than the Julia character. A bit shallow and materialistic, but charming. Makes her portrayal of Julia all the more impressive. One of the most amusing Anthony moments for me is a very tiny segment of the episode where they have that really crazy client. Anthony has been driving him around and explains that they had to go through the car wash "and then we had to have our pictures made with everyone who worked there." Charlene asks why and the face Anthony makes while shrugging makes me laugh out loud. He does it again when the guy gives him a few pieces from "my personal game of Clue" as a reward for something. Anthony was truly long-suffering, between Suzanne, Bernice, crazy clients, etc., but he handled it quite gracefully.

I started to watch the finale and once Matt and Rudi self-selected out, I put it aside and only finished it yesterday. They were the only couple left that I enjoyed watching from a performance standpoint. Chris and Bri are consistently good, but all that entertaining. I was also worried that Jamie and Trevor would somehow win. I didn't think they even belonged in the finale, let alone to win it. Jamie is SO young. However old she actually is, she acts far younger, like a teenager. And her voice was one of, if not THE weakest of all the women. I don't have much of an impression of Ryan and while Natascha was a great singer, I've always noticed that anyone on any singing show who works as a vocal coach, singing teacher, etc. never really does well on the show. I'm not 100% sure why, but it's a trend I've noticed over the years. Oh God, you're definitely right about that. No more Z-list country singers, they're going to keep in the family from now on.

The decision of Natalie and Michele's that makes the least sense to me is why they left Sarah in the game. They were in no danger if it came down to a tie in that scenario, there were no rocks to be pulled. Sarah and Denise would have had to make fire and the chips would fall where they may at that point. That was the chance to break up the Tony/Sarah/Ben trio and while Denise was close to Ben, she wasn't tied to Tony the way Sarah was. That was probably Ben's most likable moment, but I'd be pissed if I were his wife. He wasn't likely to win, but he could have brought home a not-insignificant chunk of change even as a 3rd place finisher. These "friends" that he made are people who I assume don't live nearby and aren't going to be part of his life on a day-to-day basis. It seemed like a highly emotional decision that may not hold up after the fact.

Ryan was acting VERY weird by the end of the show. I watched on Hulu without commercials and after what would have been a commercial break, he just stared straight down at his desk for an extra minute before announcing the final 2 in a completely flat tone. I was pretty shocked by Just Sam's win too. I thought she was a lock for top 5 (though it crossed my mind that it could be an all-male top 5), but I thought the winner would be Arthur once it was down to those 2 and before that, I'd thought Jonny or Dillon could win. I was a little surprised Francisco made it into the top 5 and I think he was too, lol. On the other hand, it looked like Arthur thought he had the win in the bag at final 2. I don't think the family celebration was because they thought he won, I think they expected him to win so they had celebration stuff planned and just rolled on with it anyway. It certainly would have made for a more festive winning moment than poor Just Sam in a room alone with an iPad. I don't usually go in for conspiracy theories, but I could see the show massaging the results a bit due to the disparity in the numbers of female winners vs males and maybe to give Just Sam a boost. Of the top 5, she's clearly in the most difficult position financially, so I hope this helps her out. But the reason I think this would be the season to mess with, voting-wise, is that it was such a weird situation overall, I doubt there would be a big outcry. I managed to be all over the internet today before watching the show and didn't encounter a single spoiler, so I don't think many people are paying too much attention anymore. I only watched this season because we're locked down and there's nothing else to do. I was so glad Louis didn't make the top 5, I don't understand how he even made it this far. He's got such a wannabe One Direction-er vibe and if not for the British accent, I don't think he would have gotten much notice. It did seem pointless to call EVERYONE a star and declare EVERY performance a triumph. Some of those performances last night were a bit dull. Technically fine and all, but not noteworthy and every "critique" was just nonstop gushing. I kinda liked Katy's song too, it seemed like a return to her former musical style after some supremely shitty singles in recent years.