Watching Sitcoms

Talking about Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman got me to thinking about the other evening soap opera sitcom of that same time, Soap. The DVDs are available for all four seasons of Soap. Personally, I’m a little excited about that. When Soap first came out in 1977, I was still in middle school and the entire show was pretty risque. I imagine that after all this time it probably comes across as more tame. Unlike Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Soap was shown during prime time, but it still dealt with issues that most other shows of the time didn’t discuss. It also had what I believe was the first openly gay character on TV. The story lines revolved around two sisters and their crazy family, dysfuntional families, and dealt with issues like infidelity, racism, religion, mental illness and impotence.

The cast included Katherine Helmond, Richard Mulligan, Cathryn Damon, Billy Crystal, Ted Wass, Robert Guillaume, and Diana Canova.

Most of them have gone on to do lots of other shows. Katherine Helmond was recently Debra’s mother on Everybody Loves Raymond, another great sitcom, and she was a voice in that movie, Cars, too. Robert Guillaume had a spin off to his own show, Benson, which was more mainstream and also really, really funny. Of course, we all know that comedian Billy Crystal turned out to be a major star. Soap wasn’t his first bit of acting, but it was before his stint on Saturday Night Live. Plus, Billy was one of the voices in Cars, as well.

Not only did the show have lots of great stars, there were also lots of guest stars worth watching, like Robert Urich, Howard Hesseman, Jack Gilford, Doris Roberts, Sorrell Booke, and Robert Englund.

If you’ve never seen Soap, you should check it out.

My husband and I were watching some random movie the other day. Don’t even ask me what it was, cause honestly, I don’t remember. Anyway, the mother of one of the character’s was familiar. My husband couldn’t name her, but right away, I recognized Louise Lasser.

I have fond memories from my youth of Louise Lasser as Mary Hartman in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. I’m sure I was probably too young to watch it at the time, as it was considered quite racy because of the topics it dealt with and, even though it was a sitcom, it didn’t air until 11:30 pm. It was more like a soap opera than a sitcom, but that was the point. It was supposed to be a parody of soap operas, hence the double name . . . people always said things twice in soaps, or so Norman Lear felt. The show also aired every day, five days a week, with no repeats, and it had no live audience or laugh track.

Along with Lasser, MH2 (as it was sometimes known) also starred Greg Mullavey, Dody Goodman, Mary Kay Place, Graham Jarvis, Debralee Scott, Martin Mull, Dabney Coleman, Marian Mercer and Doris Roberts. Some of those names should also be familiar.

MH2 was only on the air from January of 1976 until May of 1977, but because it aired five episodes a week, there were hundreds of eps. You can order some of them here from Amazon or Deepdiscount.

Also, just so you can see the kind of strange, funny, weirdness that was Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, here’s a video of Mary and the Librarian:

Only 18 more days until Christmas!!! I can remember when we used to say that there were only so many more shopping days until Christmas, cause the stores were closed on Sunday. Now, of course, one can shop all day and all night 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I’m pretty sure this is an improvement, but sometimes I wonder.

In any case, I was sharing my Amazon wishlist with my family this week and I was checking out the new DVDs. I also saw lots and lots of stuff on sale - whole seasons for under $20.

Of course, the point to all this is, hurry up and order so that you’ll have your stuff (I love that word . . . stuff, stuff, stuff) in time for Christmas. Here’s a link to Amazon’s New and Future Releases page.

And here’s a sample of some the DVDs:

Dec 4, 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean - At World’s End
24 - Season 6
Battlestar Galactica - Razor
Superbad
Will and Grace - Season 7
Law and Order: SVU - Season 4
Seventh Heaven - Season 5

Dec 11, 2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
High School Musical 2
Lost - Season 3
Fraiser - Season 10
Beverly Hills 90210 - Season 3

Also, you might want to check out some new music to share with friends and family. CDs do make great stocking stuffers. May I recommend Chris Sligh (from American Idol fame)? I put a link up to his myspace page on my other blog and he was kind enough to comment. It was cool, like we’re buds now or something. *giggle* Anyway, I really enjoy the CD he put out with his band, Half Past Forever, titled Take a Chance on Something Beautiful. You should go take a listen to that and to Chris’ myspace page.

Amazon, DVDs, Chris Sligh

All those DVDs I borrowed are gonna have to go back to the library soon, but I did manage to watch the entire disk of Welcome Back, Kotter episodes. I think there were six of them, and for some reason, the pilot episode didn’t air first, but was actually shown third in the series. I’m not sure why it was that way, but that’s how they are on the DVD as well. However, I’m a rebel, so I watched the pilot first and then went back and watched the other eps.

They were pretty funny. Even now, they didn’t come across as totally dated. OK, they were definitely dated, very 70’s and hip and all that, but still, it didn’t detract in any way from the show.

I think I must relate to that type of humor much better than I do to whatever is considered more modern humor. It was basically a bunch of one-liners and zingers back and forth. Gabe Kaplan was a stand up comedian at the time, which is very much a standard for your typical good sitcom scenario (think Raymond, Cosby, Seinfeld, etc.) He did a lot of voices and always told a joke at the beginning and end of each ep, with his sitcom wife, Julie, played by Marcia Strassman, as his straight man. She was great in that role, although she does, occasionally crack a smile. One of his favorite characters was Groucho Marx and, somehow, as hackneyed as that sounds, it was funny.

So much of that show crept into our culture at the time, plus, they gave us John Travolta. I’m always amazed at how many different genres in which he has performed and excelled. He’s been in comedies, dramas and musicals. He has sung and danced, delivered jokes and acted as the evil bad man, and he’s been believable. Plus, he’s been successful in both small and big screens . . . not many actors are versatile enough to do well on both TV and in movies. I’m not plugging him or anything, its not like he’s even one of my favorite actors, he’s just good.

He wasn’t the only good person on Kotter, though, they were all really funny in their own way and worked very well together as an ensemble.

If you have the time, Kotter is worth watching again. I’m not certain how it will appeal to a younger audience who didn’t actually grow up with the Sweathogs in their living room every week, but I really enjoyed it. Plus, there are 95 eps and I’ve only seen the first 6. It should keep me busy for a while.

Welcome Back Kotter, Gabe Kaplan, Marcia Strassman, John Travolta

Another enjoyable Big Bang episode. While the show isn’t side-splittingly funny, I find it amusing enough to keep my attention for 20-plus minutes each week.

We were treated to another Roseanne match up this week, as Leonard and Sheldon were visited by Sheldon’s mother, Mary, played by Laurie Metcalf. You will remember her as Roseanne’s sister, Jackie Harris. I was a little worried at one point, because Laurie was playing the part of a “christian,” throwing phrases around that could have become offensive. However, I felt it was nicely done so that it appeared to simply be that we were meeting up with a honest-to-goodness mama from the Bible-belt. So many times people will play a similar role in a way that pokes fun at others. It didn’t feel that at all.

They also did the same with an Indian joke. Rajesh, gazing at the buffet, says, “I love American food.” He is asked, “Don’t they have buffets in India?” His response, “Yes, but its all Indian food.” See, that could be offensive, but it is delivered in a way that just makes you feel like you are finding out a bit more about our quirky geeks.

Did anyone else notice that geeks and nerds are totally back in style? Not only do we have Leonard, Sheldon and gang gracing CBS on Monday nights, but over on NBC, we have Chuck, with the entire Nerd Herd. Plus, Beauty and the Geek on the CW, too. Wow, it’s just like that 80’s movie, Revenge of the Nerds. They are out to get us.

Speaking of Roseanne, the ninth and final season just came out on DVD today.

The Big Bang Theory, Laurie Metcalf, Johnny Galecki, Roseanne, Revenge of the Nerds

I just saw that some of the DVD’s I want are on sale at Amazon. You should hurry over there and look.

Here are some examples:
Moonlighting, Season 3 is $18.49 (down another dollar from just the other day).

Barney Miller, Season 1 is only $13.49

Remington Steele,Season 1 is $19.49

What’s Happening, Season 1 is $14.99

I know I’ll be buying stuff this weekend. Plus, I’ll have them for those long cold, winter weekends when I just wanna roll up in a blanket on the couch and watch TV.

I’m excited.

Last night we had this celebration for the 25th wedding anniversary of our Pastor and his wife, both very good friends of mine. I was actually in their wedding, although I staunchly insist I was the flower girl.

The gift from the congregation was a trip to Hawaii, and my husband had the idea to present it as though it was a prize they would win on a game show. For days we were pouring though tv show themes and game show sounds, like beepers and timers and bells. The skit was very funny and my Pastor and his wife were shocked, which was fun.

What, you may ask, does this have to do with sitcoms? Well, I’ll tell you. The theme song we ended up choosing for the game show (called, inicidently, Get It Right) was the theme from What’s Happening!!, which caused more discussion than you’d think about a 3-season show that’s been off the air for nearly 30 years. The show was on the air from 1976 to 1979 and came back in 1985 as What’s Happening Now!!, which also lasted 3 seasons.

People were saying, “I know that song, that’s What’s Happening, isn’t it?” and getting all excited. Then people were naming all the characters, Rog, Rerun, Dwayne, Shirley, Dee and Mama.

DVDs of all three seasons of What’s Happening!! and the first season of What’s Happening Now!! are available at Amazon. I’m thinking I need to go buy them.

It brings me to my knees to announce the arrival of the 7th Heaven Box Set. (And I don’t mean that in a good way. I mean that in the “please god make it stop�? kind of way.)

Now I know there are people out here that are just dying to get their hands on the all new 7th Heaven Box Set. Those same people who managed to make this cheesy show into the longest running family drama. Thanks for preventing any other shows (ones with substance) from lighting up my screen. I am sure there will be plenty of people stocking up on these complete sets to hold them over the upcoming summer syndication months. Obviously, I am not one of those people.

The only thing that would possibly convince me to sit through a single episode of this series would be if the box set included “special features�? like exclusive scenes from the Jessica Biel (a.k.a. Mary Camden) Gear Magazine photo shoot. The very shoot that got her fired from the show. Aside from her stunning beauty Jessica Biel played the only character that went through any real issues that any real teenagers face today. Fortunately she has long since moved on to a rather successful acting career.

I will pray that you do not have to suffer though an entire box set of this show, but if you do, may I suggest THIS fabulous drinking game!

DRINK whenever you feel you’re being judged. Either through the characters’ comments on other peoples’ lifestyles or just through the show’s overall purity.

FINISH THE BOTTLE whenever a married teenager announces a pregnancy that’s totally okay because she’s married.

Thanks to TIFAUX

�?Hey hey hey! The second season of “What’s Happening!!” is now available on DVD! The funny, funky, late ’70s comedy classic featuring high school pals Raj, Dwayne and Rerun, Raj’s bratty little sister Dee, Shirley and Mama—who’s always got the last word, has arrived in a hilarious three-disc set with all 22 episodes from the Second Season. Complete Second Season. 3-disc set.�?

Hey Hey Hey! I don’t know if any one else has been waiting as long as I have for this sitcom to DVD treat to come along! Season Two has arrived! Who was your favorite character? I still love Rerun, but I will never be able to master his slick dance moves!

In the 1970’s, Norman Lear ruled television. He created “All In The Family“, “The Jeffersons“, “Maude“, “Good Times“, “Sanford and Son” & “One Day At A Time“. Not a bad listing of shows. He had an iron grip on the Neilsen ratings and was CBS’s golden child.

In the mid 70’s, Lear had an idea for a spoof on soap operas. They called it “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” and hired Louise Lasser to play the title role. The show’s title is repeated because the writers believed that everything on a soap is spoken twice. The show, like all of Lear’s shows, talked about many taboo topics such as sexual perversion, serial killers, and a lot of other topics that were way out there to be on tv in the 70’s (even on a Norman Lear show). When no major network would pick it up, it was sold into syndication and aired 5 nites a week. Most stations aired it way after the 11 PM news, but it turned into a ratings and critical hit (even earning Lasser an Emmy nomination!)

The show was part soap opera and part spoof. Let’s put it this way, to sum it up: she was the the pigtailed, gingham-frocked Ohio housewife who lived in a world where television commercials were as meaningful as personal experiences, and who tried to remain calm while her daughter was held hostage by a mass murderer, her husband was impotent, her father disappeared, and her best friend was paralyzed. Unlike “Soap”, that played itself more like a sitcom, MHMH did not have a studio audience and had a lot of those dramatic soap opera closeups that were so very popular on soaps in the 70’s.

After 325 episodes, and her character having a nervous breakdown on a television talk show, Louise Lasser decided to leave the show. She has been reported as saying that people were only recognizing her as the title character and not as an actress. I suppose she did not want to be typecast. She went on to do a ton of guest roles and currently teaches acting at NYU.

MHMH also spun off 3 shows: “Fernwood 2Nite” (a less then serious talk show spoof that stars Fred Willard and Martin Mull), “Forever Fernwood” (which was MHMH after Louise left and it also ran about a year) and “America 2Nite”. Occasionally these shows pop up on TVLand.

As for MHMH, there was a videocassette release years ago, but besides that, there has not been any real home releases of the show. UNTIL NOW. Sony has announced that on March 27 they will be releasing Volume One of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman!

We have some new details about the Complete Brady Bunch DVD Set!
(thanks to TVShowsonDVD.com)

The set is a whopping 21 discs and will contain:

The Very Brady Christmas TV Movie
The Brady 500 (pilot from the 90’s TV show)
Episodes from “The Brady Kids” cartoon

And yes, it really is shag on the box!

You know, it really warms my heart to know that the companies out there are putting some time and effort into releasing quality box sets these days.

I grew up watching The Brady Bunch in syndication on UHF stations in Philly. As an only child I always found it fascinating that all those kids were able to not beat the crap out of each other like all the other big families I knew. Of course that was before I knew about writers and acting and stuff like that. Oh, and yeah, I had a little crush on Peter. But I digress.

It would be cool to watch all the best episodes in a marathon: The “football in the nose” episode”, the “see saw” episode, the “Bobby becomes a pool shark” episode, the “Mike loses his job and ends up pimping out Marsha” episode*. You can do that soon according to TVShowsOnDVD.com:

CBS/Paramount has announced the complete set of The Brady Bunch. Unfortunately all we have is the box art and the street date: March 27, 2007. We have no idea if there is any added material or what that box is made out of.

Green shag is genius. At least thats what it seems to me to be. But whatever. I think there will most likely be some great extras. I am also hoping for a blooper reel and maybe a Brady movie. “The Brady Brides”? Or the pilot of “The Bradys” where Bobby is a race car driver and ends up in a wheelchair? Good times.

*May not have been an actual episode.