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David T. Cole

By David T. Cole
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deangirl
deangirl

I'm actually ok with the end of Supernatural, I have been ok with it for 10 years now! But I appreciate the concern. I absolutely agree with Sarah about Jared's hair, just know that the current hairst

TheOtherLibrarian
TheOtherLibrarian

For the flatulent robot child, I would have gone with Small Winder.

Fukui San
Fukui San

Guys, it occurs to me that Game Time is now the world's foremost currently running sporting competition. Either that or the guy on YouTube who films marble races. Thank you for shouldering this a

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soybombyx

soybombyx

The show was Square One and the Dragnet parody at the end of the episode was Mathnet.

Oh no, I wasn't a nerd at alllll.

I watched Rags to Riches but all I remember is Joe Bologna and the blonde orphan singing Little Peggy March's I Will Follow Him.

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Lisin

Lisin

I'm with Sarah, I cannot believe ER isn't streaming (for free) anywhere. You can stream it from Amazon for like $2 an episode, but I want to do a whole rewatch! I don't want to spend $500 for the whole run of the show. I've actually had to be talked out of it twice in the past year. It's so tempting!

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Jessi

Jessi

I taped all the episodes of "Rags to Riches" and my cousins and I would imitate the dance scenes over and over again. Oddly, I just had a "Rags to Riches" flashback yesterday at a silent yoga retreat I went to. And here, let's pause for a deep dive. During one episode, Rose, who I believe is the child of a Vietnamese mother and a white G.I. father, decides to take up meditation and does some sort of weird breathing exercise, while Nick spies on her in concern--which was the first time I had ever heard of meditation. This triggered the memory of ANOTHER episode where Nick Foley wants Rose to be a debutante, which actually, could be the same episode because he wants her to have "normal" teenage experiences. He asks a friend to kiss one of the girls into the debutante group (not literally) and the dude thinks he's talking about Diane, the blonde 16-year-old. When he realizes Nick is talking about Rose, he gets all squirrely, but somehow Nick strong arms him into this. Then Rose goes to some ball and falls for a WASPy dude, whose dad is all, "Have your way with those kind of girls, but marry one of 'ours.'" When Rose finds out all he's interested in her for is sex, she's shattered! And Nick stands up for her! And she does something sassy, which I can't remember, to get back at the tool. And, anyhow, this is all to say that YES, you should absolutely re-watch this show. If for nothing else than the opening number when the orphans sing "Working on the Chain Gang," while doing dishes at the orphanage.

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LAFR

LAFR

I've never felt so old as when you reviewed the basics of ER and ThirtySomething.

Michael Ironside was Tom Skerritt's sidekick in Top Gun and the attending physician on ER. Also playing the role of an attending ER physician William H. Macy.

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Tara Ariano

Tara Ariano

The show was Square One and the Dragnet parody at the end of the episode was Mathnet.

 

GAH, YOU'RE RIGHT. I even looked it up on IMDb to get all the guest stars and knew that and screwed it up on record day! I have no excuse except that we were so tired.

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Jessi

Jessi

Man, I've opened the flood gates. I have realized that this is in my memory, while what I did this past Saturday is not (and not due to any outside influences, I just plain can't remember): In the pilot of "Rags to Riches," Nina (I think that's her name), the one who finds her mother between the pilot and the next episode, runs away to Big Sur with her boyfriend, who is in a motorcycle gang. Nick goes to rescue her. When he brings her home, the girls are relieved and start to warm up to him. They begin to believe he has their best interests at heart and he isn't some cold, heartless capitalist who is using them for some reason they sense, but don't know. Nick and the girls decide to throw a huge party to celebrate their new family. The girls are even going to perform. The scene is thus: "Chantilly lace, and a pretty face, with a pony tail hanging down," starts to play as the girls get ready for the party. They're all happy and putting together some crazy 60s/80s mashup of outfits. Gloves are involved. BUT THEN. dun. dun. dun. dun. Carmella (I think)--Nick's fancy lady girlfriend who told him that she just needs to "smooth out his rough edges"--tells the girls the good news that they've been accepted into the boarding school she and Nick visited without their knowledge. The girls then return to their rooms and when they come out again, they look more like "The Misfits" from Jem and the Holograms than like the demure-ish 60s/80s girl group of a few minutes ago. Then, they get on the mic. And it all goes down hill from there. More stuff happens, but by the end Nick, with the help of the butler, I believe, resolves things with the girls and gives Carmela the heave-ho with this line, "I guess I'm just a little too attached to my rough edges." Oh, and I can even remember some of the theme song. God, help me. So, if you need anyone to sub in for you or to do one of those e-mail conversations you guys do on this site about a show, call me!

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sinnerforhire

sinnerforhire

I looked up whether Mathnet was available at all a few years ago and apparently there were 2 VHS sets that were "education priced" (meaning, more than $100 a set). I think one was a Kate Monday case and the other was a Pat Tuesday case.

Also, PBS once ran an entire case as a TV-movie back during Pledge Week once, and I had that taped on VHS up until I graduated high school in 2001. It was the dodecahedron jewelry heist case.

My favorite case of all time was the Monterey Bay Aquarium one. I STILL want to go there someday. And I still remember the moment several years ago when I finally got the Nick and Nora Chuck reference (in my defense, I was about 8 when it originally aired). Also, I love Rear Window parodies, so that was my second favorite case.

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Dave in Chicago

Dave in Chicago

I tracked down "Rags to Riches" last year, having never heard of it before. It... sounds entirely perfect on paper, but maybe has a few small issues.

1) Lack of commitment to its 60s setting. It is the 80's-est 60s you will ever see.

2) Most of the songs are sung in unison by all six girls, which creates like the opposite of the "Glee" autotune problem. If any of them are talented singers, good luck figuring that out because it's all just kind of shouted.

3) General poor quality. (Sorry, but it is way low budget.)

Okay, those all add to its charms, actually. If nothing else, I invite you all to watch this clip of two of the "Not Ready for Kids Incorporated" Players singing "Anyone who had a heart" to a horse. Yup.

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smrou

smrou

I haven't finished listening to the epsiode yet but I just had to come here to say that I have been saying FOR YEARS to basically anyone who is polite enough not to ignore me that Square One TV (and, if not the whole thing, then at least Mathnet) should be available...somehow.  I don't care how.  DVD, streaming, rerunning.  And I'm with Tara in being surprised that neither Dave nor Sarah watched it.  I loved that show and it's one of the few shows (actually, I venture to guess it was the only show) that my entire family watched together.  Well, my sisters and I watched the whole thing and then my parents would join us for Mathnet.  In fact, one of my clearest memories of childhood is of my sisters and me running through the house in the short leadup to Mathnet yelling for my parents, "MATHNET'S ON!  MATHNET'S ON!"

 

I've showed some clips to some of my students over the years and they've mostly seemed entertained/amused.  And these are high schoolers.  That's not to say they would watch it, but I think it indicates that younger kids still would.

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Will Holston

Will Holston

THE CARTOON RECCESS ISN'T EVEN AVAILABLE ON DVD. This is an outrage. I check at least twice a year and am outraged every time.

I should also be able to watch any episode of Elimidate, Chains of Love, Shipmates, The Fifth Wheel, Next, Parental Control, Date My Mom, etc. whenever I want. There needs to be a cable channel devoted entirely to embarrassing early '00s dating shows.

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panthergirl13

panthergirl13

I'm pretty sure Thirtysomething was on Netflix for a time. I have the first 2 seasons on DVD but I remember thinking I could just watch online too.

 

My Timothy Busfield story: I caught chicken pox from my 3 year old daughter when I was 33. My then-husband was a stagehand on a Broadway show that TB was in (this was 1988...don't remember what show). Anyway I was deathly sick and said husband came home with a note that said "DON'T SCRATCH THEM POPS! Love, Tim."

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Solid Muldoon

Solid Muldoon

I'd love to see a live action reboot of Jonny Quest. Super genius scientist who sort of seems to work for the government, his hunky bodyguard, his precocious son, and the little Hindu boy they kidnap/adopt. Traveling the earth. Getting into adventures. Fighting monsters. The coolest Saturday morning cartoon of all time!

Tim Matheson, the original voice of Jonny, could Play Doctor Quest.

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lynny

lynny

(edited)

Rags to Riches!! I only have vague memories of the show because we didn't have cable so I only watched it if it was on while I was at a friend's house. But I definitely remember the movie and their rendition of "Hey Mister Postman". It was fabulous. I would watch the neck out of that if it ever came out

Edited by lynny
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radishcake

radishcake

Tara I am with you on the SquareOne Mathnet love! I am also in for a Thirtysomething rewatch. My second year of college was the year that the series ended and we all gathered in TV lounge to watch the series finale. Everyone was there even if they didn't watch the show. It was blogTV before there were blogs. 

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sinnerforhire

sinnerforhire

Every time I try to access this episode through the Podcast app on my iPhone, it says the episode is temporarily unavailable. But I can get it on my Apple TV, and I'm pretty sure I listened to it on my phone the day it came out. Has anyone else had this problem?

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StatMom

StatMom

The parolee list starts and ends with one word (or possibly two words ...I'm not sure): Homefront! (Or Home Front). The ABC two-seasoner about the immediate post WWII era with so many That Guys/Gals and the delicious Kyle Chandler. The soundtrack may be an issue here. One heroic YouTuber has uploaded all of the eps, but that gets old real quick. C'mon, ABC, get it together!

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EllieH

EllieH

Mathnet!! Weirdly, this is the second time in a week one of the podcasts I listen to talked about Mathnet. I was one of those kids whose parents never got cable while I was growing up, so I watched a lot of PBS programming (Square One, Ghostwriter, etc.).

My favorite episode was the one where they go on the murder mystery weekend, and its a house where each of the bedrooms had a different color theme. The plot is basically a rip-off of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". Such a classic!

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Aethera

Aethera

(edited)

I was yelling "SquareOne" at the radio this morning (and then da-da-ing the theme). My favorite show as a kid. They should so bring that back.

My votes for streaming are Designing Women and Sisters. Golden girls and Designing Women are linked in my head for some reason, and while I love GG, I don't understand why Designing Women doesn't get more airing. Then again, I wrote a paper about Julia's rants for my Politics and Television class in college, so I might just be biased.

Sisters, I barely understood when it was on, but I have fond memories nonetheless, so I'd like to watch it and understand it.

And if they give us ER on Netflix, can we get Chicago Hope too?

 

Editing to Add:  The Yeardley Smith case on Mathnet was always my favorite.  A gorilla who likes pizza, I seem to recall!

Edited by aethera
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Actionmage

Actionmage

(edited)

I think a reboot of the original Jonny Quest is great, and ITA, Solid Muldoon,  that Tim Matheson as Professor Quest would be inspired! Maybe ABC Family could do it properly.

 

As far as streaming or running somewhere, Veritas: The Quest could be good. The lead cast were: Alex Carter, Ryan Merriman, Arnold Vosloo, Cynthia Martells, Eric Balfour, and pre-HIMYM Cobie Smulders! Damocles and The Mummy FTW! Some of the guest stars were: Carlo Rota, Liz Vassey, Eli Wallach, Aki Aleong,  Richard Cox, Zach Grenier, Daniel Kash, Derek DeLint, and all sorts of other H!ITGs. It wasn't the most awesome show, but ABC kept prempting it due to Michael Jackson "news" of the time (2003) and got cancelled. There weren't a lot of episodes, so it's binge-able and not a time-sink.

 

I would enjoy Mathnet from time to time, as my kid at the time was too young but I had PBS on for her. Maybe we could also lobby for a Carmen Sandiego reboot too? Supposedly kids in the US are...lagging in identifying places in the world, so that would fill a niche. If not PBS, then maybe, Nat Geo? (Rockapella is still around, but if the original guys are who you'd like to use again they are still performing too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockapella#Post

Carmen_Sandiego_years_.281997.E2.80.93present.29)

 

I love the Just Like Mom idea! If the US could do a version (Canada getting all the credit), maybe on FOX? Maybe ABC, if they cut AFV to half and hour and then have this lead into their Sunday night programming? That way it could be seen by a wider audience.

 

eta: Thanks, David! That was great! ABC or Game Show Network or whatever original Nickelodeon is going by would be good spots for a reboot here in the US. It could be like The Amazing Race, just instead of world-travel, kids make insane "treats" ?  Like the "caramel" "bars"? *G*

Edited by Actionmage
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Actionmage

Actionmage

Since I am a mystery and a comics geek, this wasn't easy. I think I found a decent group with just one slight rules bend.

 

A)My first pick is Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Firebrand. It was interesting to me because it was a different POV of the lead-up, actuality, and aftermath of the Trojan War. Cassandra's usually just a female brought on to be ignored, but MZB gave her a rich life, though not an easy one by any standard. If we can have the cheesy goodness of Brad Pitt-Eric Bana Troy, there's room for a production of The Firebrand.

 

B) Eric Flint's 1632 series. It's episodic and there are so many books and actual anthologies, that there is no lack of source to work with. It's a fish-out-of-time story and a realistically based fantasy. There is a wonderful twist to history, which seems palatable ( see: Sleepy Hollow) and it could have a smidge of stunt casting for some of the bigger folks that are met and not recurring. There are plenty of Big Damn Hero moments in the first book, at least, so it would be walking the line between too broody ("We can't use our modern stuff! We have lost almost everyone we know and love!") and optimistic ( finding new allies, friends, love interests). It would have politics and machinations! Potentially awful accents and more mangled German! (I hope not on the latter, though.) It's not quite an anthology thing, as there is a definite through-story, yet there's enough that even the kids caught in the out-of-time town are actually cool and useful! Maybe ABC could put it on; it could be Disney-nip!

 

C)Sheri S. Tepper's  The True Game series. While it's been a few years since I read them, I enjoyed the bigger picture-ness of The Game. If the series does well, there could be a Mavin the Manyshaped or Jinian Footseer spin-off/sequel?  Maybe SyFy or one of the cable nets, like Showtime could take this on?

 

D) Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkorsigan Saga. It's Space Opera, but it's more too. The question is: do we start with the books, as published chronologically ( starting with Miles) or do we start book-time chronologically ( Cordilia and Aral, Miles' awesome parents)?  Like (B), there is a rich supply of source material, so that should not be a problem. This is a property that SyFy should be all over.

 

E) Mark Dunn's goofily whimsical Ella Minnow Pea! It is better suited to a mini-series format, but the inanity could be embodied by a game, solid cast. It is a story about an island where, as letters fall from a statue, the use of those fallen letters are forbidden. It is told through letters in the book, but very vividly, even at the end. The whole book is entertaining and silly, but the good kind. Maybe NBC or Ovation could produce it?

 

F) Teri Windling's  Fairy Tale series ( and pretty much any of her stuff, tbh.) Make it an anthology, a movie maybe? Then someone can air it on Saturday, which might actually get eyeballs that aren't sports or repeat eyeballs.  Or, since the stories really do take an actually mature angle on the originals, some channel like fx, WGN, USA, or Oxygen might be able to show well, if done right.

 

G) White Wolf's original recipe World of Darkness. I am not a crackpot, so please bear with me! As much as I loved the cracktastic Kindred The Embraced, it didn't hit what the game setting was about: horror. It was dark and twisty, and some of the darkest humor I know about. (I like to sleep, so I'm not super big on the genre, but this tabletop game won me over.) There are so many sourcebooks from the first WOD, not to mention novels and a card game that has storylines, that again, no need to worry about a dearth of ideas if the show is successful. Plus, there is something to be said about a series that is truly one and done each episode, like the Fairy Tale anthology above. Like the NBC Mystery Movie before it, if a certain character/s get lots of positive feed back, there could always be another one-and-done story for them.

 

H) My rule-bender: Leonie Swann's Three Bags Full.  Definitely a mini-series, but it's a murder mystery that is solved by a flock of sheep! Their shepherd has been killed and his charges take it on themselves to bring the killer to justice. The flock has it's stars. It's set in Ireland as well, so there is the fun of trying to voice-cast. Unless it is transplanted to the USA.  (Oregon? Washington? Maine? Rhode Island?) 

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scrubs14

scrubs14

Omg. I loved BOTH Mathnet AND Rags to Riches!!!! I remember in the late 90's I rented the pilot movie on tape. I also remember watching Mathnet as I waited for my piano lessons because she only got the basic channels. I secretly loved it. I was too young to know how creepy Rags to Riches was but now that you mention it...

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Actionmage

Actionmage

Liv is so cool. While I don't think that next-to-last ep should be the time to throw in an extra hurdle, like bad materials, it's an idea worth thinking about. To see how contestants deal with the swerve. For Face Off, it would be interesting, as not every project these folks will work on can afford top shelf material.  Maybe not bad materials, just on the low end of the spectrum.

 

Wouldn't that be like the storage space challenge on Project Runway this season?

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David T. Cole

David T. Cole

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I think The Alienist, about a forensic expert in late 19th century New York using then-modern scientific techniques to track down a serial killer, would make a great series.  Sure, it'd basically be an HBO version of the Canadian show Murdoch Mysteries, but I'm down with that.  :)

 

I think Peacemakers was there first.

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beardwhit

beardwhit

This episode is such whitney-nip. Not only discussions over staples like ER and 30-Something but Mathnet?! Relativity?!?! Rags to Riches?????!!!!!!!! I still see actors from that show and think of them as "the dad from Rags to Riches" or "An orphan from Rags to Riches." I would love to read a re-cap of that show.

The orphan plot line did not bother me back when I was kid. As far as I remember, EVERYTHING I watched in the 80's was about orphans with questionable guardians (Punky Brewster, Webster, Different Strokes, Jem, Sister Kate, The Facts of Life (not technically orphans but they might as well be) and movies like The Leftovers, and Unlikely Angel). So much so that I often pretended that I ran an orphanage as a child.

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KarenClassic

KarenClassic

I love this topic and have my own show suggestion- Everwood.  Apparently the first couple of seasons are on DVD, but as suggested on the podcast, who watches DVDs anymore.  I think this would be a perfect show for an afternoon run.  It was a perfect fit for the now defunct SoapNet (R.i.P.).  It has Chris Pratt in one of his first roles, as well as Emily VanCamp and Treat Williams!  I think many people missed this sweet show the first time around, but I think this is a perfect syndication watch.  

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smrou

smrou

Actually, related to thirtysomething, as mentioned in the podcast that same crew created Once and Again, which also seems to be at least sort of in TV jail.  As far as I know the last season was never even released on DVD.  And it never reruns anywhere and doesn't appear to stream anywhere.  It was never as significant as thirtysomething but I really liked that show and think it could probably find some current audience.

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