S06.E27: Strike The Match

[Primetimer]

Tara's Single White Female-osity reaches the point where Kelly can no longer ignore it.

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[Primetimer]

All the most important moments from 'The Powerman 5000 Radio Hou'-- er, 'Strike The Match'!

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[WoodyCee]

Is that Rex Van de Camp?!?!?

[Earmuffs Mom]

20 minutes ago, WoodyCee said:

Is that Rex Van de Camp?!?!?

YES!

I reiterate from an earlier time Donna's video vixen look came up - I want to set myself on fire watching Donna gyrate, be "sexy" and strike the match.  UGH.

[MerBearStare]

Quote

Elly May Clampett's Winchester House hair-don't

OMG, "Winchester House hair" is going to become a regular part of my vocabulary. I love anything that is both an insult and a reference to the Winchester House. (And for real, if you're ever in or near San Jose, you've got to go there.)

Quote

(Sarah doesn't completely hate the brassiere, and will fire herself, don't get up.)

Ya know, the bra is like the least offensive part of the ensemble, so I'm not judging.

[TeeVee329]

Val and Kelly's "Someone keyed my car last night/You were the only thing low enough for him to crawl to" spitting match is definitely one I remember quite vividly.  And I too would have loooved seeing them actually come to blows.  Damn this show for so often forgetting that it's a soap opera.

And yet they remembered with Single White Tara.  Her copying Kelly's hair was soapy as fuuuck.

I remembered Claire being much more of A Bitch About It re: Steve and the shawl, but maybe I'm remember a different fight they have. By the way, I think Claire is emerging as a season MVP candidate.  I still love Val, but her patheticness about Colin is no bueno.

Nice job with the contributes, Dave!

[Lalochezia]

I Googled The Rockpile (Powerman 5000's Toronto gig venue), and the first result that comes up describes it as "Etobicoke's best live venue". As I'm sure Dave and Tara will know, that explains a lot about where PM5K's career is currently.

[BBHN]

I think I posted these before, but here they are again...Donna striking the match in all of her glory.

 

[BBHN]

One thing I will give Donna credit for, is once she saw Joe walking out disapprovingly, she didn't run after him to try to explain or justify what she was doing, or trying to make him feel better about it, etc. She just shrugged it off and kept doing what she wanted to do.

Edited May 18, 2017 by BBHN

[benteen]

Fun fact, this episode was directed by James Darren.  Darren was in The Guns of Navarone in 1961 (he may be the last cast member alive from that film) and played Moondoggie in the Gidget films.  He was the star of Irwin Allen's The Time Tunnel show in the 60s and was a cast member on TJ Hooker, produced by Aaron Spelling.  He spent the next 15 years or so directing TV shows, many of them for Aaron Spelling.  He directed one more 90210 episode after this (Pledge My Love).  I remember Darren mostly for a recurring role he had on Star Trek Deep Space Nine, playing a holographic lounge singer named Vic Fontaine. 

Edited May 18, 2017 by benteen

[maxineofarc]

SUSAN. JESUS. DUMP HIM. HE SUCKS.

[BBHN]

Quote

Is This Pizzazz Or What?

What.

Now this, this is Pizzazz...

[Nanna]

Donna's dancing in the first gif must have been the inspiration for my former boss who danced in exactly that knee bending way. Nice to finally know where that originated, I wondered about it at so many office parties.

[WoodyCee]

I used to manage a FedEx Kinkos and I competely agree that a PM5k band member probably works at one.

[David T. Cole]

4 hours ago, Lalochezia said:

I Googled The Rockpile (Powerman 5000's Toronto gig venue), and the first result that comes up describes it as "Etobicoke's best live venue". As I'm sure Dave and Tara will know, that explains a lot about where PM5K's career is currently.

Ha ha. Yep. Every city has its Etobicoke. 25 minutes away, full of Carl Jr-level 3rd tier retail and weird public transit options.

[WhosThatGirl]

I mean..  so many thoughts.

One Tara thinking Kelly's current hair style and style are good looking (enough to copy). High school Kelly maybe. This Kelly no.

Hilarious that Kelly is all shocked when Tara walks in with the same hair color and cut. Come on. You know all these girls watched single white female, Kelly should have known. Also once again for someone who's an expert in psych, way to ignore signs of someone with a personality disorder there Kel. And her shocked reaction when Donna was all "she wants to be you". 

[Halo]

2 hours ago, WoodyCee said:

I used to manage a FedEx Kinkos and I competely agree that a PM5k band member probably works at one.

Kinkos always makes me think of Jason Segal's character in Undeclared. So funny! 

[Halo]

The rubber breast plates on some of the queens on Ru Paul's Drag Race are 100% better than the boob cavern Donna rocks as she "dances." 

Edited May 19, 2017 by Halo
missing word

[sinnerforhire]

Loved the Shattered Glass reference! One of my fave movies, and I'm convinced that Hayden Christensen's character and Terruh Streetchild both have borderline personality disorder. (Although, most of HC's characters come off that way, including Anakin!)

[WhosThatGirl]

45 minutes ago, sinnerforhire said:

Loved the Shattered Glass reference! One of my fave movies, and I'm convinced that Hayden Christensen's character and Terruh Streetchild both have borderline personality disorder. (Although, most of HC's characters come off that way, including Anakin!)

You should see his movie Awake if you haven't already. He's supposed to be playing someone who is awake throughout a medical surgery but is having like an out of body experience or something . But HC is so not acting like someone who can feel pain that he would experience during a surgery.

Edited May 18, 2017 by WhosThatGirl

[MerBearStare]

5 hours ago, BBHN said:

Now this, this is Pizzazz...

Hahaha, I love you for this!

2 hours ago, Halo said:

Kinkos always makes me think of Jason Segal's character in Undeclared.

I always think of the Pop Copy sketch from the first (or one of the first) episode of Chapelle's Show. I am the manager!

The first half of the series has so many standout episodes (my personal #1 is Donna Martin Graduates), but the second half has so many boring, "who gives a shit?" episodes. I think these Tara Streetchild episodes are the best (i.e. most ridiculous but entertaining) of the second half of the series.

[mskyle]

Well thanks to this podcast I now know that my fiancé has seen Powerman 5000 live at least five or six times, including multiple shows at the Worcester Palladium (Worcester might be Boston's Etobicoke).

[MerBearStare]

32 minutes ago, mskyle said:

Well thanks to this podcast I now know that my fiancé has seen Powerman 5000 live at least five or six times, including multiple shows at the Worcester Palladium (Worcester might be Boston's Etobicoke).

And he's still your fiancé? j/k...kind of :-)

But if I remember Worcester accurately, that makes total sense.

[dwarmed]

The top photo looks a little too Dee Snyder/Paul Stanley. Not a good look.

[CurlyATX]

Ok, I am sure to be sitting alone at this table, but I think that it was really weird for Susan to hint that Brandon taking the internship meant the end of their relationship.  In my spotty college dating life, it was really common for folks to go home all summer and maybe you'd hook up a few times and then go back in September.   I don't get why Susan is acting so "if you take this internship then there is no us" crap.  It's putting me in the bad position of having to defend Brandon, which I don't like at all. 

Did Tara use Kelly's stylist? And was it a bit of a burn when Kelly said that her stylist was a "miracle worker".  

I can totally relate to the Steve/Clare laundry debacle. I remember once my husband washed some dry clean only item of mine (that I had lazily dropped on the floor) and it got messed up.  I think that I told him not to wash any of my clothes from now on (or at least that's his excuse for not doing any of my laundry for the past 14 years).

[CurlyATX]

I'm torn on this one... part of me thinks it's great to have Donna have such body confidence and an unwillingness to be slut shamed for her wardrobe choices.  She embraces her sexuality even if she's choosing not to have sex.  Then, another part of me thinks "Girl, put some clothes on!"

Can we add a sponsorship tier for making Dave watch and comment on an episode?

[maxineofarc]

12 hours ago, mskyle said:

Well thanks to this podcast I now know that my fiancé has seen Powerman 5000 live at least five or six times, including multiple shows at the Worcester Palladium (Worcester might be Boston's Etobicoke).

Worcesterite here, the Palladium is still rocking and Worcester is a surprising hotbed of the metal scene on the east coast. Also we have many other awesome and cool things going on. Stop by and I'll take you on a tour of Why We Are Unexpectedly Awesome And Not At All An Etobicoke. </derail>

[schroob]

That hair isn't a 60s throwback buttcutt. That's The Rachel.

[cmfran]

My wife just laughed at me because I know who Powerman 5000 is. I even knew the singer was Rob Zombie's brother. Yes, I listened to a lot of rock/metal in the 90s.

[MCMLXXVII]

6 hours ago, cmfran said:

My wife just laughed at me because I know who Powerman 5000 is. I even knew the singer was Rob Zombie's brother. Yes, I listened to a lot of rock/metal in the 90s.

As did I, but for some reason I always had them mixed up with Static-X in my head, in regards to this episode.

[atlanticslide]

13 hours ago, CurlyATX said:

Ok, I am sure to be sitting alone at this table, but I think that it was really weird for Susan to hint that Brandon taking the internship meant the end of their relationship.  In my spotty college dating life, it was really common for folks to go home all summer and maybe you'd hook up a few times and then go back in September.   I don't get why Susan is acting so "if you take this internship then there is no us" crap.  It's putting me in the bad position of having to defend Brandon, which I don't like at all. 

I'll join you at this table. Brandon takes a pretty bitchy attitude towards her (shocker) but her "I'm not telling you not to take the internship, I'm just telling you to think about how it'll affect our relationship" nonsense was so passive aggressive and annoying. It's pretty much my problem with Susan in a nutshell - they seem to want us to see her as this strong feminist woman who doesn't take shit from people, etc, except that when it comes to Brandon she's this shrinking, apologizing character who seems like she's being set up in the beginning stages of an abusive relationship storyline. If you're worried about spending the summer apart, just say that. Or come up with a compromise, or just freaking go with him and get yourself your own hotshot Boston internship (which, considering she's the editor of the paper and she just won a big award, shouldn't be that hard to get. Especially since Brandon got one).

The Claire/Steve STUFF was totally unnecessary and mostly seemed to be shoved into this episode just to give those two something to do - like almost all of their "storylines" this season - but for some reason I really enjoyed it. They're both just kind of endearing - I really like Steve nervously saying "this shawl's kind of like that one!" and Claire, tearful, saying that it's not her mom's, and Steve just sadly replying that he knows. And then instead of nagging or being bitchy like TV wives or girlfriends are often portrayed, Claire understands that it was just an accident and gets over it. It was such a weirdly normal, healthy couple moment, especially for this show. 

[Sarah D. Bunting]

Quote

That's The Rachel.

With a center part in the front, and a backcomb? I'll defer to Tara, Friends Expert here, but: I don't think it's a Rachel. Whatever it is, no bueno.

[Klaw]

16 hours ago, atlanticslide said:

It was such a weirdly normal, healthy couple moment, especially for this show. 

This ^! It's a shame they had to turn Claire so nasty and borderline verbally abusive to Steve at the end of their relationship because mostly, she was portrayed as a tough and unashamed brainiac who was cool enough not to put up with (most of) Kelly's bullshit. 

Re: Brandon and Susan, it is such a stupid fucking "fight" to have. And I do not believe for one moment that the hotshot, award-winning EDITOR of a major college newspaper who is on her way to grad school would want to take her ENTIRE junior year summer off to go road tripping with PowerLifts 5000. She's supposed to be ambitious, right? Like Tara and Sarah were saying, take a road trip to Boston. Or she can go to the Globe too or to the NYT or WaPo and they can hook up on the east coast on weekends. It was just a way to break them up (without Brandon looking like a dick) so he can get back with Kelly of the Golden Vajayjay and Mushroom hair poof. eye roll...

Why was Tara friends with some middle-aged thrift shop owner? I mean, huh? That was just so random ... and odd... 

And because it needs to be said - where the hell is Tara getting her spending money? I lived in LA. I don't recall freshly-baked croissants being handed out for free on the beach. They should have at least had her working odd jobs as a waitress or a barista or in that dude's thrift shop or SOMETHING... what did she do all day besides copy Kelly's baby voice and order flowers?

[atlanticslide]

Speaking of the croissants, those things were the size of fucking frisbees. 

[vendredi3]

On 5/18/2017 at 1:22 PM, benteen said:

 I remember Darren mostly for a recurring role he had on Star Trek Deep Space Nine, playing a holographic lounge singer named Vic Fontaine. 

Way to bury the lede - I loved that character! :)

Also, where do we petition to have Dave as a contributing host on every episode? And this isn't a dig at Tara and Sarah, whom I love more than is reasonable, but I really enjoyed the "Extra Hot Great"-ness chemistry this recap had. Need more Tara yelling at Dave!

[allicatexp]

15 hours ago, Sarah D. Bunting said:

With a center part in the front, and a backcomb? I'll defer to Tara, Friends Expert here, but: I don't think it's a Rachel. Whatever it is, no bueno.

I agree . No Rachel. Aniston's cut had multi layers. What Susan is sporting appears to only have 2. Both bad.

[methodwriter85]

On 5/18/2017 at 5:32 PM, Halo said:

The rubber breast plates on some of the queens on Ru Paul's Drag Race are 100% better than the boob cavern Donna rocks as she "dances." 

Ah, yes, we're now entering the seasons where Donna must be referred to as sexy and hot at all times. Next season we get her crazed stalker.

It's funny to compare Tiffani's boob job with Tori's boob job. Tiffani's looked wonderful and natural, whereas Tori's was massively fucked up.

Cameron Bancroft is hot. It's a shame his character had to be such a pill.

[Klaw]

On 5/20/2017 at 9:03 PM, Sarah D. Bunting said:

 

Quote

That's The Rachel.

With a center part in the front, and a backcomb? I'll defer to Tara, Friends Expert here, but: I don't think it's a Rachel. Whatever it is, no bueno.

 

I don't think it's The Rachel either, but what do I know? I never watched Friends. I will say that whoever was doing the hair during this string of episodes needed to be shot. Because EVERYONE's hair was looking fucked up this episode.

3 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Ah, yes, we're now entering the seasons where Donna must be referred to as sexy and hot at all times.

But did anybody else notice that Kelly NEVER once complimented Donna's hot lewk? Even when Tara/Nat "she looks like a movie star" awe and later when Donna was fishing and said 'that was fun' and she was all, "IT looked like it." Tee hee.

This is probably an UO but I .. *small voice* kinda liked* the video. Now, don't get me wrong, the band and song are dumb and bad and Donna's gyrating was dumb and bad but if it had actually been a real video with a real video vixen (not one with a war crime TM Sarah D. Bunting on her chest) it would have been pretty good. Ok, on that note, I will slink away in shame.

[Jax7917]

Clares hair was the absolute worst that season with Donna trailing right behind 

[SoupThrower]

On 2017-5-21 at 6:11 AM, Klaw said:

This ^! It's a shame they had to turn Claire so nasty and borderline verbally abusive to Steve at the end of their relationship because mostly, she was portrayed as a tough and unashamed brainiac who was cool enough not to put up with (most of) Kelly's bullshit. 

So much potential with Claire, so much squandered.

Susan was written so poorly in this and previous episodes. How Brandon got this gig I can understand because people were recruiting for college students around that time and it was competitive. Why Brandon got the chance? He sucks at being a journalist.  

Susan should be pushing him to do it and take a road trip whenever. Brandon being a dick cause Brandon but JUST TAKE THE JOB!!! Then less Brandon on show (but more Kelly :( ) Susan should have pushed him for the job like she would take the chance (and she did) if she was on the same boat. Silly show.

Also I wish they made David not direct Donna and maybe become a classical pianist. 

Pizzazz

[SoupThrower]

That part of the show scarred me and probably Joe for life. Why they did let this happen? Why?

[CandysWrapRoom]

On 5/20/2017 at 4:11 PM, Klaw said:

PowerLifts 5000

Thanks for this!  

[Klaw]

2 hours ago, allienc said:

On 5/20/2017 at 10:11 PM, Klaw said:

PowerLifts 5000

Thanks for this!  

You're very welcome :)

[benteen]

On ‎5‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 4:11 PM, Klaw said:

This ^! It's a shame they had to turn Claire so nasty and borderline verbally abusive to Steve at the end of their relationship because mostly, she was portrayed as a tough and unashamed brainiac who was cool enough not to put up with (most of) Kelly's bullshit. 

Not to mention practically serving as a replacement wife for her father.

[CurlyATX]

Maybe this was just how crazy my life was in college, but even when I had a boyfriend, it wasn't ever that serious.  It seems that The Gang really wants to settle down quickly, talk about futures, etc.  I couldn't even imagine planning a trip with a current boyfriend that was more than a month or two out.  I wouldn't want someone to cancel big life-changing opportunities for our dating.  Yet, I was also so naïve to think that long-distance relationships could work.  I remember wondering why Clare and Steve didn't try to make it work long-distance- heck, it's not like he isn't rich enough to visit her regularly in Paris.

In general, The Gang settles down quickly: Dylan married Junior year, Kelly proposed to Soph year, Brinda engaged Frosh year, Susan/Brandon talking about their futures Junior year... then we have all the post-college engagements/marriages.  I was still scraping quarters together for a TacoBell run when I was 23!

[Jax7917]

57 minutes ago, CurlyATX said:

Maybe this was just how crazy my life was in college, but even when I had a boyfriend, it wasn't ever that serious.  It seems that The Gang really wants to settle down quickly, talk about futures, etc.  I couldn't even imagine planning a trip with a current boyfriend that was more than a month or two out.  I wouldn't want someone to cancel big life-changing opportunities for our dating.  Yet, I was also so naïve to think that long-distance relationships could work.  I remember wondering why Clare and Steve didn't try to make it work long-distance- heck, it's not like he isn't rich enough to visit her regularly in Paris.

In general, The Gang settles down quickly: Dylan married Junior year, Kelly proposed to Soph year, Brinda engaged Frosh year, Susan/Brandon talking about their futures Junior year... then we have all the post-college engagements/marriages.  I was still scraping quarters together for a TacoBell run when I was 23!

Yeah Kelly and Brandon act like they're wayyyyy older than they are. In season 8 the energy between them was not of 22 year olds. I think in all tv shows, they make the leads settle down by like 19 or 20 because most of the time, the shows start when the cast is in high school (but really about 30 in real life). 

I think Clare leaving for Paris was that she wanted to go and be with her dad and move on to different people, but I think she saw that her relationship with Steve was donezo. They fought every episode and KILLED her character. Oh and I guess the producers/writers wanted her off the show for whatever reason lol

[bilgistic]

It's been since the original airing and maybe a rerun or three since I've seen this episode. I remember Tara's hair being awful, but someone please explain to me why her pre-SWF hair had to look like ratted Barbie hair that my sister cut. Why could it not have just been her (the actor's) real hair? I don't understand the need for two wigs!

[Ions Earring]

On 5/19/2017 at 11:14 AM, schroob said:

buttcutt

I, unfortunately, had the haircut but never knew the term. Thank you!

[CurlyATX]

On ‎5‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 3:11 PM, Klaw said:

But did anybody else notice that Kelly NEVER once complimented Donna's hot lewk? Even when Tara/Nat "she looks like a movie star" awe and later when Donna was fishing and said 'that was fun' and she was all, "IT looked like it." Tee hee.

I think there is a part next season where Val reads Kelly's diary and Kelly says she hates Clare's hair!  But to be fair, the 90s weren't really the best for hair.  I blame it on lack of good product. 

[luckyroll3]

On 5/19/2017 at 6:53 AM, CurlyATX said:

Ok, I am sure to be sitting alone at this table, but I think that it was really weird for Susan to hint that Brandon taking the internship meant the end of their relationship.  In my spotty college dating life, it was really common for folks to go home all summer and maybe you'd hook up a few times and then go back in September.   I don't get why Susan is acting so "if you take this internship then there is no us" crap.  It's putting me in the bad position of having to defend Brandon, which I don't like at all. 

 

On 5/19/2017 at 8:58 PM, atlanticslide said:

I'll join you at this table. Brandon takes a pretty bitchy attitude towards her (shocker) but her "I'm not telling you not to take the internship, I'm just telling you to think about how it'll affect our relationship" nonsense was so passive aggressive and annoying. It's pretty much my problem with Susan in a nutshell - they seem to want us to see her as this strong feminist woman who doesn't take shit from people, etc, except that when it comes to Brandon she's this shrinking, apologizing character who seems like she's being set up in the beginning stages of an abusive relationship storyline. If you're worried about spending the summer apart, just say that. Or come up with a compromise, or just freaking go with him and get yourself your own hotshot Boston internship (which, considering she's the editor of the paper and she just won a big award, shouldn't be that hard to get. Especially since Brandon got one).

Pulling up a seat to this table and bringing a bottle of wine along.  I'm trying to suppress the urge to vomit for having to say this, but I was totally on Brandon's side for this.  @atlanticslide, you called it when you said Susan was being passive aggressive.  Just fucking say you don't want him to go and skip the fucking ultimatum, because yes, it was an ultimatum, even if you didn't verbalize it.  And it wreaked of insecurity and a bit of jealousy.  But what pissed me off the most, was that she was acting as if Brandon was just blowing her off to go goof around for the summer.  Nah bitch; this is his career and future (even as unrealistic as it is that Brandon of all people would be offered something like this; but even more reason for him to accept it!).  She couldn't deal with that when it's was Brandon's future on the line, but when it's her future....then feminism.  Fuck off Susan! 

I can admit that I know who Powerman 5000 are; I knew the lead singer is Rob Zombie's younger brother; I may have seen them in concert once in 2000 or 2001 (at one of those festivals where there are a ton of acts); and I actually like 2 of their songs (just checked my Ipod and I have Nobody's Real and When World's Collide, and sing along excitedly to both when they come on during a shuffle).

Donna in the video is dreadful...however, I'm liking her curly do.  

Man, when Tara shows up with that hair is one of the greatest TV moments evah!  That's what i think back to whenever I see that actress anywhere (how does she get jobs; she's awful in everything!).