Late To The Party: Obvious Things About Shows You Realized Embarrasingly Late

[BlackberryJam]

13 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Watching it back then, as a kid, I thought that stuff was hilarious. Watching it, and a lot of shows from that era, now is so cringy. 

Benny Hill.

[GHScorpiosRule]

With the return of The Bugs Bunny Show ( it used to be Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show when I watched it as a kid on Saturday mornings), I just noticed that Porky Pig and Granny aren’t featured among the characters who walk across the stage! 
 

We have:

• Tweety
• Speedy Gonzales
• Hippety Hopper
• Yosemite Sam
• Sylvester
• Elmer Fudd
• Pepe Le Pew
• Wiley E. Coyote 
• Foghorn Leghorn

And of course Bugs and Daffy at the front, but no Porky! And he was there from the beginning and is also the one who mostly did the popping out of the WB/MM 🥁 with the “That’s All Folks!!! 

And Hopper wasn’t in as many toons as Granny!

It’s so wrong! And I say that as someone whose favorite character is Bugs Bunny!

 

[Katy M]

On 6/19/2021 at 3:01 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

And of course Bugs and Daffy at the front, but no Porky! And he was there from the beginning and is also the one who mostly did the popping out of the WB/MM 🥁 with the “That’s All Folks!!! 

And Hopper wasn’t in as many toons as Granny!

It was all political.  Granny voted for "fill in the blank" for President and it made her an outcast in Hollywood.  She was lucky she could even get work.  Porky, well, he wasn't kosher.

On a more truthful note, I have no idea who hippety hopper is.  Is he the frog?  

[GHScorpiosRule]

48 minutes ago, Katy M said:

On a more truthful note, I have no idea who hippety hopper is.  Is he the frog?

No, he's a baby Kangaroo that Sylvester thought was a giant mouse.

Forgot to add that Road Runner is also in the line-up.

[Blergh]

Hoppity Hooper was the star of a Jay Ward production in 1964 ( from the same folks who made Rocky&Bullwinkle) NOT in any way associated with Warner Bros. Looney Toons so he wasn't there.  And no, the Warner Bros. then-unnamed frog (from 'One Froggy Evening' 1955)later called Michigan Joe (the mascot of the WB Network ) does NOT appear with the other Looney Toon stars nor does any frog. 

For all we know, he may have been singing his heart out backstage  to console Granny for not being invited to be part of the stage lineup! 

[Katy M]

4 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

No, he's a baby Kangaroo that Sylvester thought was a giant mouse.

Oh.  I liked him.  Just didn't know he had a name.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I really don't care about the Frog because he was only in one or two toons. Porky and Granny being left out is a bigger issue for me, as they were regulars.

Just now, Katy M said:

Oh.  I liked him.  Just didn't know he had a name.

Neither did I, since we never heard it, so I did the diligent thing and looked it up!

[Shannon L.]

Not a tv show, but a movie:  A few months ago, while watching one of the Marvel movies for the umpteenth time, it just then occurred to me that the reason Rocket likes to steal prosthetic limbs and glass eyes is because irl raccoons like to steal all sorts of things.

[Mabinogia]

20 minutes ago, Shannon L. said:

it just then occurred to me that the reason Rocket likes to steal prosthetic limbs and glass eyes is because irl raccoons like to steal all sorts of things.

Haha, that makes total sense. You can take the trash panda out of the trash but you can't take the trash stealing out of the trash panda. (for anyone who doesn't know, trash panda is a nickname for raccoons). 

[Crs97]

More sports related, but I discovered it on 30 for 30 so figure it belongs here:  I was today years old (54) when I realized the Indiana Pacers are named for the pace cars in the Indianapolis 500. 🤦‍♀️

[ifionlyknew]

11 hours ago, Crs97 said:

More sports related, but I discovered it on 30 for 30 so figure it belongs here:  I was today years old (54) when I realized the Indiana Pacers are named for the pace cars in the Indianapolis 500. 🤦‍♀️

It was almost 20 years before I realized the Baltimore Ravens were named that because of Edgar Allen Poe.

[Danny Franks]

11 hours ago, Crs97 said:

More sports related, but I discovered it on 30 for 30 so figure it belongs here:  I was today years old (54) when I realized the Indiana Pacers are named for the pace cars in the Indianapolis 500. 🤦‍♀️

Huh. That makes sense, I guess. But it's a bit of a weak reason for a name. The Indiana Racers would make more sense (even if it sounds lamer) because why name your team after the car that exists to keep things slow and under control?

Still better than the Toronto Raptors being named because Jurassic Park was still really popular.

2 minutes ago, ifionlyknew said:

It was almost 20 years before I realized the Baltimore Ravens were named that because of Edgar Allen Poe.

That's a large part of the reason that I decided to support the Ravens when I started following the NFL.

[Crs97]

39 minutes ago, ifionlyknew said:

It was almost 20 years before I realized the Baltimore Ravens were named that because of Edgar Allen Poe.

And it was today when I found that out.  Thank you!  Apparently I suffer from an extreme lack of curiosity about the origin of team names.

[BlackberryJam]

I didn't realize that the LA Lakers were originally from Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes.

[Bookish Jen]

57 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

I didn't realize that the LA Lakers were originally from Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes.

I had no idea either. Thanks. I always thought that the Lakers were an odd name choice for an LA team. Now I know.

[DrSpaceman73]

And the Utah jazz of course because of the great jazz in Utah!!!

Just kidding they were originally in new orleans.  

 

[Bookish Jen]

2 hours ago, DrSpaceman73 said:

And the Utah jazz of course because of the great jazz in Utah!!!

Just kidding they were originally in new orleans.  

 

The Utah Jazz should have been called The Utah A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock and Roll.

[Raja]

58 minutes ago, Bookish Jen said:

The Utah Jazz should have been called The Utah A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock and Roll.

The opposite of the thread, I understood that reference

[ifionlyknew]

13 minutes ago, Raja said:

The opposite of the thread, I understood that reference

Me too but I'm afraid that is because I'm getting old.  LOL

[Katy M]

32 minutes ago, Raja said:

The opposite of the thread, I understood that reference

My sister loooved Donny and Marie.  She even had Barbie and Ken like dolls of them that came with a little stage and she'd act out them singing.  And she kept talkiing about purple socks or something.

[magicdog]

6 minutes ago, Katy M said:

My sister loooved Donny and Marie.  She even had Barbie and Ken like dolls of them that came with a little stage and she'd act out them singing.  And she kept talkiing about purple socks or something.

We had them too!  Both of them were dressed in lavender and purple outfits!

[Bookish Jen]

55 minutes ago, Katy M said:

My sister loooved Donny and Marie.  She even had Barbie and Ken like dolls of them that came with a little stage and she'd act out them singing.  And she kept talkiing about purple socks or something.

I loved Donny and Marie so much as a little girl I wanted to convert from Catholicism to being a Mormon. Then I realized I wouldn't be able to drink, which just isn't feasible when you're from Wisconsin. Snerk.

[Ohiopirate02]

1 minute ago, Bookish Jen said:

I loved Donny and Marie so much as a little girl I wanted to convert from Catholicism to being a Mormon. Then I realized I wouldn't be able to drink, which just isn't feasible when you're from Wisconsin. Snerk.

I could conceivably give up alcohol if the guy was worth it.  But, no man is worth giving up coffee.

[DoctorAtomic]

They still do all that. Don't let them fool you. 

[Raja]

14 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

They still do all that. Don't let them fool you. 

It took age and experience for me to understand first religious restrictions and that TV characters representing specific faith groups  were violating them. On the current season of Cobra Kai the character Hawk with his extensive body art suddenly started using his real name.

But then most shows rarely get into anything more than an initial date and the other character recognizing they tripped over a restriction.

[DoctorAtomic]

Oh, I meant irl. 

[Egg McMuffin]

This isn’t about a show, but a movie. I was well into adulthood before I realized that Franz, the family butler in “The Sound of Music” was a Nazi and ratted out the Von Trapps when they were trying to escape before the festival. The version that NBC used to run was edited, and it didn’t include the brief shot of Franz watching them from behind the curtain. When I first saw the unedited version, I was like: Franz, you bastard!

Looking back, I should have realized it from the scene earlier in the movie where Franz and Rolf are talking.

[GreekGeek]

On 6/22/2021 at 12:15 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I really don't care about the Frog because he was only in one or two toons.

According to MeTV, he was only in one toon!

[Egg McMuffin]

They did a belated sequel, “Another Froggy Evening” in the 90s.

[Blergh]

2 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

This isn’t about a show, but a movie. I was well into adulthood before I realized that Franz, the family butler in “The Sound of Music” was a Nazi and ratted out the Von Trapps when they were trying to escape before the festival. The version that NBC used to run was edited, and it didn’t include the brief shot of Franz watching them from behind the curtain. When I first saw the unedited version, I was like: Franz, you bastard!

Looking back, I should have realized it from the scene earlier in the movie where Franz and Rolf are talking.

Don't feel too bad! When I was a tiny child  during the "I Have Confidence" song, I wondered aloud to my mother if Maria had actually sung this song all on her own in such public venues. Mama, bless her heart, replied, "No, she sang Austrian songs!" LOL.

[Zella]

Just now, Blergh said:

"No, she sang Austrian songs!"

This is unrelated to The Sound of Music, but when I was a kid, I had a lot of questions about Terminator before seeing the movies. I knew Schwarzenegger was Austrian and had a thick accent, so I had all sorts of theories about why this terminator robot would also have an Austrian accent. Was he built in Austria? Was his inventor Austrian? My stepmom finally had to tell me that I'd obviously put more thought into this than the filmmakers. LOL 

[magicdog]

When I was a kid, there was a show which aired in syndication called Please Don't Eat The Daisies (based on the book and movie of the same name).  It was the kind of show that aired on local superstations either in the AM or right after you got home from school.  I remember the opening credits and the family pet was called "Ladadog".  I always thought that was a funny name.

Many years later, I discovered the books of Alfred Payson Terhune who wrote many books about collies (he was a breeder of champion Rough Collies whose lines exist to this very day) and one of those books was titled, "Lad: A Dog" (1919)  Obviously, the family was rather literate to name their dog that, and prolific readers in the 60s when the show first debuted would have likely made the connection. 

[Egg McMuffin]

You’re probably not the only one who was confused by it. That same link has the second season opening, too, and in that one, the dog is just billed as “Lad.”

Edited May 21, 2022 by Egg McMuffin

[Blergh]

22 hours ago, Egg McMuffin said:

You’re probably not the only one who was confused by it. That same link has the second season opening, too, and in that one, the dog is just billed as “Lad.”

Of course, it should be noted that that VERY big friendly sheepdog (who was featured a lot in 1960's sitcoms including the opening credits of The  Patty Duke Show  ) whose actual name was Lord Nelson wound up having a regular part on  The Doris Day Show  (1968-1973) playing the family dog called 'Nelson'. 

Speaking of Doris Day, it used to puzzle me how for the first three seasons, she went from being a widowed mother of two boys called 'Mrs. Doris Martin' with a father named 'Buck Webb' (played by Denver Pyle- a mere two years Miss Day's senior) who lived on a huge ranch in a remote part of California with a ranch hand and two different housekeepers to help out. BTW, she once mentioned that her late husband's name was. ..Steve(?!). In the 3rd  season she had moved to San Francisco to a penthouse apartment over an Italian restaurant (?!) which  she somehow afforded while  working as a secretary for this magazine called 'Today's World' headed by a bumbling boss she called Mr. Nicholson played by the late McLean Stevenson in his first regular sitcom role- and, at that point it seems her father's ranch was in Marin County just over the Golden Gate Bridge instead of some very remote spot. 

OK, THEN Season Four happened and Doris was still living in that sumptuous Frisco penthouse   AND was still working for 'Today's World'. However, she was NOW a full-fledged writer for the magazine headed by a pompous boss Sy Bennett that she called 'Sy' AND her name was 'Miss Doris Martin' (not Ms.) with her two sons and big sheepdog having disappeared (the latter especially surprising since Miss Day was a famous dog and cat advocate) from sight and memory. Oh, and Denver Pyle dropped by one episode to play her father  and was still named Buck but now called 'Buck Martin' instead of Webb. 

Yeah, that drastic change confused me. But, OTOH, I   had felt sorry for her sons and,   her sheepdog having had to have moved from that gigantic,forested ranch to that somewhat cramped Frisco penthouse (especially for the sheepdog) and was relieved that I no longer had to worry about how they were faring within while Doris was spending the whole day in the magazine office !

Edited May 22, 2022 by Blergh

[magicdog]

3 hours ago, Blergh said:

Season Five happened and Doris was still living in that sumptuous Frisco penthouse   AND was still working for 'Today's World'. However, she was NOW a full-fledged writer for the magazine headed by a pompous boss Sy Bennett that she called 'Sy' AND her name was 'Miss Doris Martin' (not Ms.) with her two sons and big sheepdog having disappeared (the latter especially surprising since Miss Day was a famous dog and cat advocate) from sight and memory. Oh, and Denver Pyle dropped by one episode to play her father  and was still named Buck but now called 'Buck Martin' instead of Webb. 

Yeah, that drastic change confused me. But, OTOH, I   had felt sorry for her sons and,   her sheepdog having had to have moved from that gigantic,forested ranch to that somewhat cramped Frisco penthouse (especially for the sheepdog) and was relieved that I no longer had to worry about how they were faring within while Doris was spending the whole day in the magazine office !

I remember seeing an interview with one of the former child actors who played one of her sons.  Doris personally called him to let him know that he wouldn't be acting on the show anymore but it wasn't his fault, (and certainly wasn't her call) but it was a network decision.  Both boys were very sad to hear they were let go as they enjoyed working on the set with Ms. Day.  

[Blergh]

On 5/21/2022 at 4:42 PM, magicdog said:

I remember seeing an interview with one of the former child actors who played one of her sons.  Doris personally called him to let him know that he wouldn't be acting on the show anymore but it wasn't his fault, (and certainly wasn't her call) but it was a network decision.  Both boys were very sad to hear they were let go as they enjoyed working on the set with Ms. Day.  

Since Todd Starke (1961-1983) who'd played her younger son Toby would tragically die at just age 21 in a motorcycle accident, I imagine that it was Phillip Brown (born 1958) [Billy Martin(?!)] who related that about Miss Day. Yes, I always had the impression that, if one had reason to know her and avoided questions about her private life or performing career, she'd have been a friendly and considerate person to have known (and, if one wanted to share pet stories, that was an extra 'in') . Not every star would have attempted to personally inform AND console their colleagues about being them being let go from the show against said star's wishes. 

So, I guess CBS decided that since Mary Tyler Moore was having a successful sitcom centered around a single, childless career woman that Doris Day needed to join her ranks- even if it meant that it erased her character's marital, parental (and dog loving) history when the show was in its last years.  BTW, it should be noted that after a somewhat tense union, Miss Day's 3rd husband Martin Melcher had suddenly died in 1968- AND, it turned out had mismanaged her performing career funds (leaving her very much in the red)  as well as signed her up with CBS for this sitcom without having even told her. Yes, Miss Day had only found out she was to star in this show after his death but plugged on because she believed in keeping professional commitments AND she needed some income FAST. Yet, by her co-stars' accounts, she was perfectly professional and pleasant to work with in spite of having had this foisted upon her without even her knowledge at the time! 

Edited May 23, 2022 by Blergh

[Mabinogia]

I've been watching 227 lately, a show I watched religiously as a teen and it wasn't until I saw a reunion interview that I realized that Brenda was played the Regina King. It said her name in the credits, it just never clicked for me. Now that I know I can't figure out how I didn't know. 

[festivus]

I love Regina King. If I know she's going to be in something, I'll watch it. But whenever I try to remember anything she's been in I only remember 227. So exact opposite problem than you, lol. She's one of those HITG (gals) for me. 

[DearEvette]

I remember watching Regina King in 227 when I was younger.  I liked her ok.  But it was her very next role in Boyz In The Hood that made me love her.  The character she played in that movie was the polar opposite of young, sweet, Brenda from 227.  She was a snappy, round-the-way girl from Compton with long butt length braids, gold door knocker earrings and she drank from a 40 out of the bottle.  She killed that role!  It was such a revelation to see her in such a different space.

[Bastet]

32 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

She was a snappy, round-the-way girl from Compton with long butt length braids, gold door knocker earrings and she drank from a 40 out of the bottle.  She killed that role! 

(Language warning)

[DoctorAtomic]

She also killed it in the Boondocks. 

[magicdog]

On 7/14/2022 at 2:55 PM, Mabinogia said:

I've been watching 227 lately, a show I watched religiously as a teen and it wasn't until I saw a reunion interview that I realized that Brenda was played the Regina King.

She's come pretty far!  I knew her right away when she turned up on Southland.  I had a giggle when her character and her partner knock on a door and who should open it but Marla Gibbs (her 227 co-star)!  In fact, Gibbs's character was a bit dotty and thought King's character was named (wait for it)... Brenda!!!  

[MissAlmond]

Was there ever an investigation into the untimely deaths of three women after each provided Ben Cartwright a son? 🤔 

Edited August 31, 2022 by MissAlmond

[ABay]

That whole family was deadlier than the Gatling gun.

[Zella]

2 hours ago, MissAlmond said:

Was there ever an investigation into the untimely deaths of three women after each provided Ben Cartwright a son? 🤔 

And all the girls that date the boys and wind up dead! My family and I used to take bets at the start of episodes on whether the girl would run away or die before the end. 

[merylinkid]

11 hours ago, Zella said:

And all the girls that date the boys and wind up dead! My family and I used to take bets at the start of episodes on whether the girl would run away or die before the end. 

It was so bad, it made it into an episode of Happy Days.    Mrs. C is watching it and one of the boys gets engaged.   She is all happy thinking this one might survive.   Then there's a cattle stampede.    I don't remember the exact words but her reaction was something like "no, get out of the way, run, oh dear."

Yes I remember a throw away scene in a tv show from 40 years ago, just don't ask me where my keys are.

[bluegirl147]

1 hour ago, merylinkid said:

It was so bad, it made it into an episode of Happy Days.    Mrs. C is watching it and one of the boys gets engaged.   She is all happy thinking this one might survive.   Then there's a cattle stampede.    I don't remember the exact words but her reaction was something like "no, get out of the way, run, oh dear."

Yes I remember a throw away scene in a tv show from 40 years ago, just don't ask me where my keys are.

Every once in awhile Happy Days would throw in a pop culture reference.  Marion to Howard defending Jenny Piccalo's gossip knowledge.  "Well she did know about Liz and Eddie before Debbie".  

[magicdog]

5 hours ago, bluegirl147 said:

Every once in awhile Happy Days would throw in a pop culture reference

Not to mention a gag in which Howard and Marion are watching The Music Man on TV and Marion mentions how the little boy looks so much like Richie (Ron Howard of course was the boy).

[Raja]

I consider myself reasonable knowledgeable about the WWII war between the US and Japan. Yet when Black Sheep Squadron was on the air I never picked up on their descriptions of months passing by, like would be done on MASH. In reality the squadron was only on the frontlines for 3 months before Robert Conrad's Greg "Pappy" Boyington was shot down and the squadron's survivors went into reserve and after the replacements were trained up deployed aboard an aircraft carrier which was almost sunk so they didn't see combat again.

Edited September 4, 2022 by Raja

[proserpina65]

On 8/31/2022 at 8:18 PM, Zella said:

And all the girls that date the boys and wind up dead! My family and I used to take bets at the start of episodes on whether the girl would run away or die before the end. 

A friend once invented words to go with the Bonanza theme.  They included the line "and the girlfriends always die".