The Flashback : Stickin' Around

Joshuaonline Canada   The Flashback  Animation 

        This time we  look at  another animated series because that's something we do here.  Our story involves CBS, Canada, and Fox Kids, but also an interesting 90's animated series that maybe doesn't get talked about much.

      Nelvana

You may remember their logo and bear. 

       Nelvana , you may remember from watching television in the late 80's and 90's, is a Canadian animation company  now currently owned by Corus.  They are the company that made the series we are talking about today. 

     "Stickin' Around" premiered on CBS as 1 minute shorts to air when CBS didn't want to look to commercial during their children's shows. (the C in CBS stands for commercial, not really)  These appeared in 1994. (It even made the Chicago Tribune) 

                         

                              

                                         

             In Canada, YTV decided it was good enough to be a series and that premiered in 1996. It also appeared on UK television , Australian television , and of course American. It aired on Fox Kids for about a year ,but it didn't do well for FOX Kids or they just didn't care. America did the get rest of the show without Fox Kids' strange edits on the digital network . Qubo like 20 years later. 

       We are here to talk about the show. Like all TV shows before the networks thought screw long themes or any at all ,we have stuff to sell, it has  a theme.  

     
  One thing you might notice if you haven't heard of or seen this series before, is the animation. The intro would really shows what this show is in it's 60 seconds.


        Why yes, they are stick figures.   The series 'stars' Stacy Stickler (get it stick?) and her best friend, Bradley (he gets no last name)  they are 9 year olds with big imaginations.

   Let's look at little at the first episode.
        Bradley has his Dad's camera and he and Stacy decide to make a movie there's a neighbor girl named  Polly who is introduced in a strange way.
 

   See the dog we circled? That's not the show's animation style , that dog is dead , don't tell Polly that. 

      Polly  and her  dead dog , Pepperoni get to be part of the movie. (He's not not dead!)  An average episode shows imagination scenes. Also, the show's backgrounds fit the style of the show as well, if the stick drawings are like a child's drawings the backgrounds are flat and simple giving it a fitting style.  

It also lets them use random backgrounds like this just for fun. /Copyright Nelvana

  

  Back to the plot : With all the running all the characters end up lost down town. There are two more male characters and also a living dog. After they run around screaming from different things , Stacy looks at the recorded footage to figure out how they got downtown in the first place.  Also Stacy also caught a robbery on film.   They do make it home and they don't win a sadder version of "America's Funniest Home Videos" but the police to give them award catching the robbery on video.  (Crime does pay - just not those who rob)   

more after the jump 

ABC cancels "The Chew"

Daytime TV News ABC 

    The daytime food based talk show that replaced  ."All My Children" in 2011 , "The Chew" has been canceled and will be replaced by a new hour of "Good Morning America" airing at the same current time as "The Chew".   1pm/12c    This is not an instant change as "The Chew" will still run through the summer and ABC has not given a date for when "Good Morning America" will expand.

     This is "GMA's" second bought with being on in the afternoon , there was the short-lived "Good Afternoon America" which was a tempoary replacement for "The Revolution" which ran for 6 months in 2012 after replacing "One Life to Live".  There's also, as of this writing,  it's unknown who will be hosting the program.
   

EXCITING NEWS JUST IN: In September @GMA will add a third hour of TV beginning at 1pm ET/12pm CT/PT: https://t.co/yvXAOIPxbj pic.twitter.com/fUgJ7LO5eg

— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 23, 2018

    Recently, "The Chew" had a controversy with former  co-host and chef, "Mario Batali" left the show back in November 2017 due to sexual harassment allegations   and  as of this week is facing investigations for sexual assault. 

  press release after the jump

The Last Episode : Newhart Wipes Your Mind

The Flashback  Essays 

        Newhart was a funny series with it's strong cast of  strange characters and the main characters of Dick Loudon (played by Bob Newhart) and his wife Joanna (played by Mary Frann). Where most of the time it was Dick trying to contend with oddness around him.  The series ran on CBS from 1982 to 1990 .

  So spoilers ahead.

     How do you end Newhart?

             The last episode starts with the people of this unnamed town in Vermont (we don't have enough sitcoms taking place in Vermont) having a unnamed town meeting.  Talking about important issues like the town fish.  The Stratford inn the place that the Loudons run is turning 200 years old.  The episode starts like a normal "Newhart" episode.  Then a Japanese Business man (because late 1980's early 1990's) says that he wants to buy the town and turn it into a golf course. (because of course?)  So we are doing a save the town episode?  Nope, he offers a million per home and they are all in , except one. Guess who?  Yep Dick Loudon.  So that's gonna stop it from happening?  Ha ha ! No they are willing to build their course around the inn.

   Everyone leaves the town but Dick and Joanna.  But first we get the townspeople going fiddler on the roof on us.  It cuts to five years later where it's a golf course now except the Stratford Inn. This finale has everything.   Dick and Joanna have tried to make the best of it but, Dick does want to sell now. The business man refuses because of Dick's pride.  Stephanie and Michael return with their older daughter.   So does George the handyman. And some of the other old townspeople.  Apparently, they all want to live in Sratford. They argue and not listen to Dick so he decides to leave and gets hit in the head with a golf ball and falls down.

  Now the famous finale part.  The show returns to a familiar set to that of the bedroom of the Bob Newhart show.  With Bob Newhart being  Dr. Bob Hartley, with  and the his wife,Emily, in that series (played by  Suzanne Pleshette )  saying he had a crazy dream.

      The finale is famous for that ending. Kind of interesting way to end a series kind of like a fellow made MTM (Mary Tyler Moore studio) series that had a twist at the end.    Does make it a remember able finale.  I will start with everything before the famous scene.  The whole episode goes all in with the strange like above the normal episodes. They were giving something special with this episode  and yet it doesn't seem so out of place from the series.  The last episode still has great comedy and  even skipped anything that would make a dramatic finale to more serious they went straight for the comedy.  It's a good trick when they started with  wonder if this finale is going to be the characters trying stop the purchase , or maybe Dick changes their minds and they all gather saying how great the town they live is or something.  It could have gone the way of Dick deciding to sell and either that's how it ends (many finales have )  or Dick plans to sell when everyone then changes their minds.     Instead , it's just used as away to put Dick in another strange situation.  The golf ball  thing was great at foreshadowing and how eventually he gets hit in the head with a golf ball.

   I think it's a good finale. It's a show that didn't take itself to seriously had well written comedy and was fun and knew how to go out. 

 That's it for now on our series finales ,we may return in the future. (This isn't our series finale)

  Tune in next time when we wake up.

The Last Episode : Sabrina Teenage Witch : End With Tying One Last Loose Swing

The Flashback Essays 

         "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" the series that ran from 1996 to 2003 ,  actually has two finales.  ABC ran the series from 1996 to 2000 and they ended it with that episode where spoiler?  Harvey finds out that she is a witch.  The WB network decided that Sabrina was right thing for their channel and picked up the show and there it aired for 3 more seasons.  What I am going to talk about is the finale from the final season.

   The finale is chosen because  I am a fan of the series  personally and it's an example of a finale that has a big two part story and ties up something that was arc in the series.

   "Sabrina The Teenage" finale  aired on the WB network on April 24th, 2003 as a two part episode   called "What a Witch Wants" and "Soul Mates".

       Spoilers ahead. (Warning)

    Background first: In this season , Sabrina and her college friends  have moved into the house together , the aunts have left.  To a point there's been an arc where Sabrina was dating a man named Aaron and they plan to get married which leads us to the episode  "What a Witch Wants". 

           What a Witch wants is Sabrina going out for her bachelorette party and that episode focuses on her and friends proving they they have a strong friendship.  So the episode I am more going to focus on is the last last episode "Soul Mates"  It's now Sabrina's wedding day and she has little cold feet, and since this show's humor sometimes goes into the literal humor , she has ice blocks on her feet. (get it?)   Salem tells her that there's a reason this happened. (need to turn the AC down a bit there)

     Also for a series finale they brought back some of the show's  past stars like her cousin Amanda (played by  Melissa Joan Hart's real life sister) , her mom , which is big because of the show's lore of she not being able to see her mom.  Her Aunt Hilda returns (Caroline Rhea). Her father, also makes another appearance.  Sadly, Aunt Zelda doesn't make a reappearance.  (in human form)  Amanda ,who is also a witch finds Harvey to get him to come to the wedding.   Doubt appears yes in literal form and tells her that there's doubt around and gives her Aaron's soul stone and  tells her that she doubts that they are soul mates.

       Sabrina searches for her soul stone at the North Star and wants to see if her stone matches with Aaron.  Do they match?  Well no.  The Wedding eventually starts after some snags ,but she's having some doubt still so it gets stalled again. Her aunt and mother tells here that everything is not against the wedding , she is so she tries again to get married. At the vows she stops again and tells Aaron that she doesn't want to get married to him after all. (Not getting that deposit back)  She leaves the church were she sees Harvey with  a soul stone of his own.   They kiss and ride off on his motorcycle. The two stones fall on the ground and they match.  Guess what they did something for those who've been watching the show since the start, the 12:36 time where she and Harvey first met.

   One thing about the show is that Harvey and Sabrina seem to be a big thing of the series. This finale kind of finishes where these characters who seemed to made for each other end up together.  Much of the series showed us how much they cared for each other even when they broke up so, it doesn't feel as some sort of weird  they did that because they were a couple once and so stick them together. In fact , it felt more that way with Sabrina and Aaron in the last few episodes of the season that he kind of just shows up in the series and then they announce to get married.

  Is it a good finale?  Yes, it gives us a good wrap up of the series with most of the characters that were big on the show a chance to return. (-3 pts for no Aunt Zelda) It gives its fans a satisfaction that yeah it's over but it ended in away that would make him feel it ended on a good note.  It gives us a little drama too, where we honestly don't know how it ends until it ends.
 
   Next time, a series finale that takes a whole show and makes you go WHAT?


Tune in  next time when we find soul stones and start a dating service.

TVLookFall2018: 2017-18 Review , 2018-19 Preview

TVLOOKFALL2018 

     Trying something different for the TV upfront week. A look at what's happened and review of  what's  to come.

 ABC
      One thing ABC changed in the 2017-18 TV season was Sunday and trying to figure out what to do with it.  So they've gone with more reality/game/variety programming instead of drama, except in the last hour slot.  A Change for the next season is instead they've gone with no drama on Sunday at all and focused on the other mode that worked for them.  "American Idol" gave them a saving hope for Sundays and they've expanded on that with "Dancing With the Stars : Juniors" (kind of joining NBC on the kid train.) 
       A.B.C  = All Big Comedy ?   ABC has in recent years been focused on comedy  where  2/3rd of Tuesday and Wednesday are comedy series.  Meaning 4 hours a week of their schedule are devoted to comedy.  They had Friday nights  but had to move a drama off Sunday , "Once Upon a Time" and Friday was there.  Read why "Last Man Standing" and "Dr.Ken" ended.    In the next season they are replacing the long running "The Middle" (which was part of ABC's double down on comedy) and replacing a show they tried but they felt didn't work. read: "Alex Inc."  Friday gets comedy again with long runners , "Fresh off the Boat", and "Speechless".   They like to use strong comedy as a launch pad for new series.  The series that followed "Modern Family", the series that followed "The Middle" for example.   "The Goldbergs" and "Black-ish" say hello.   The new seasons of "Roseanne" is their well high rated series , and so of course use that as a lead series.   "The Kids Are Alright" gets that honor.   "Black-ish" isn't being used as  a launch pad this season because the series following it proved it's chance already. "Splitting Up Together".    Wednesday has it's lead comedies of "The Goldbergs" and "Modern Family".  A returning series takes the slot after The Goldbergs - "American Housewife" , while after 'Modern' is a new series so, once again being used as a  launch pad.  "Modern Family" isn't getting younger.   Also Brad Garrett is back on network TV.

   Tuesday 10/9c.  ABC has had a hard time with that slot , so there is once again a new drama in that slot.  "The Rookie"  Question is  will this be a charm for them?

   The Good Doctor,  sometimes a series takes off  and this was one of them , so of course ABC wasn't going to mess with that even keeping it in its slot of  Mondays 10/9c.

Shondaland continues.   "Grey Anatomy"  keeps on going and Thursdays still have Shondaland series. This year they've gone with a spin-off of 'Grey' but with fire fighters. "Station 19"  while "How to Get Away with Murder" finishes up the night as per tradition.  There's only 1 other series left from her company that's "For the People" , which ABC renewed," look for that at mid-season.  Since Shonda Rhimes has made a deal with Netflix , that is the last new series for ABC better hold on tight.

     For the most part ABC kept it the same and focused on what's reliable and what works for them.


More after the jump

Upfront 2018: The CW

The CW  Upfronts  TVLookFall2018 

 
   The CW has released their fall schedule.  We have the details here.

• Sundays are back for the CW almost 10 years after they gave up on the night. It's not as long as they used to do but it's there.  
• With an extra night they've made some moves. "Supergirl" moves to Sundays with the remake of  "Charmed" coming on after it. 
• "Arrow" moves to Mondays at 9/8c with "D.C's Legends of Tomorrow" taking the slot before it. 
• "iZombie" , "Crazy Ex Girlfriend", and "Jane the Virgin" are ending after their seasons wrap up
• Midseason: "The 100", "iZombie", "In the Dark", "Roswell, New Mexico" 

    Here's the schedule , all times ET,  new shows highlighted in Blue 

Monday

8pm  DC's Legends of Tomorrow  

9pm   Arrow (New Time Slot)       

Tuesday

8pm   The Flash                              

9pm   Black Lightning                 

Wednesday

8pm  Riverdale                              

9pm  All American 

Thursday

8pm Supernatural 

9pm  Legacies 

Friday

8pm  Dynasty 

9pm Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (new time slot) 

Sunday 

8pm  Supergirl (new time slot) 

9pm  Charmed  

Press release after the Jump

Upfront 2018 : CBS

CBS Upfront TVLookFall2018  

   
   CBS has released their fall schedule.   Here are some details

• On Mondays they have cut back on comedy by an hour and adding in drama instead
• Mondays start with two new comedies , followed by the remake of "Magnum P.I" and a new time night for "Bull" 
• "Murphy Brown" comes on after Mom on Thursdays 
•  This is the first year in a few where CBS won't have Thursday Night Football
• Midseason : "The Code", "Elementary", "Fam" , "Instinct", "Life in Pieces," "Man With a Plan", "The Red Line" , "The Amazing Race", "Blood & Treasure" , "Big Brother". "Big Brother Celebrity Edition". 

Now here's the schedule , all times ET,  new series highlighted in blue

Monday 

8PM  The Neighborhod

8:30   Happy Together 

9PM   Magnum P.I 

10PM  Bull (new time slot) 

Tuesday 

8PM NCIS

9PM  FBI

10PM NCIS :New Orleans 

Wednesday 

8PM  Survivor 

9PM  SEAL Team 

10PM Criminal Minds  

Thursday

8PM  The Big Bang Theory 

8:30   Young Sheldon 

9PM   Mom 

9:30pm Murphy Brown  (revival season) 

10pm     S.W.A.T 

Friday

8PM MacGyver 

9PM  Hawaii Five-O

10PM  Blue Bloods 

Saturday

8PM  Crimetime Saturday

9PM Crimetime Saturday

10PM 48 Hours 

Sunday

7PM 60 Minutes 

8PM  God Friended Me 

9PM  NCIS: Los Angeles 

10PM  Madam Secretary 

Press release after the jump 

Upfront 2018: ABC

ABC  Upfronts TVLOOKFALL2018

         ABC has released their fall schedule.   Here the details first. 

•  "Roseanne" is ready to going to be ready to go in the fall.
•   ABC relies on game shows and reality shows on Sunday again  "Dancing With the Stars: Junior" will air Sundays , followed by "American Idol" in the midseason. 
• "The Alec Baldwin Show" will air on Sundays  as well. 
• ABC brings back comedies to Fridays.  After canceling "Last Man Standing" , and "Dr.Ken" at the end of the 2016-17 season and with FOX picking up the first show.  "Fresh off the Boat" and "Speechless" move to Fridays
•  "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" does return but it's been pushed to midseason
•  Also ABC is loaded with comedy  airing  2 hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and 1 hour on Fridays means they have 5 hours  a week of Comedy 
• "Grey"s Anatomy"'s spinoff  , "Station 19" gets a Thursday slot right after it's parent show. 
• Midseason returns :  "American Idol", "The Bachelor", "The Fix", "For the People", "Grand Hotel", "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D", "Schooled', and "Whiskey Cavalier".

    Here's the full schedule  all times ET , new series highlighted in blue 

   

Monday 

 8PM  Dancing With the Stars

10PM   The Good Doctor 

Tuesday 

  8PM  Roseanne 

  8:30  The Kids Are Alright 

  9PM   black-ish 

  9:30  Splitting up Together 

 10pm  The Rookie 

Wednesday 

 8PM  The Goldbergs  

8:30    American Housewife (new time slot) 

 9PM  Modern Family

9:30  Single Parents 

10PM  A Million Little Things 

Thursday

8PM Grey's Anatomy 

9PM   Station 19 

10PM   How to Get Away with Murder 

Friday

8PM  Fresh Off the Boat  (new time slot) 

8:30   Speechless (new time slot) 

9PM  Child Support (new time slot) 

10pm  20/20  

Saturday 

8PM  Saturday Night Football 

Sunday 

7PM  America's Funniest Home Videos 

8PM Dancing with the Stars :Juniors 

9PM Shark Tank 

10PM The Alec Baldwin Show 

Upfront 2018 : FOX

FOX  TVLookFall2018  Upfronts

            Fox has released its fall schedule and we have the details.   But first, some notes.

• "Last Man Standing" returns after a year off  from cancellation on ABC where it aired Fridays at 8/7c the  show is taking the same night and time.  
• "The Cool Kids" is new comedy coming and it will air Fridays after "Last Man Standing" 
• "9-1-1"  moves to  Mondays after  "The Resident"  
• "The Gifted" moves to Tuesdays at 8/7c 
• "Lethal Weapon" is back and has  a new actor.
• "The Orville" returns December 30th after an NFL Double Header and then moves to its Thursday Night slot
•  FOX now has the rights to the simulcast of Thursday Night Football 
• "Gotham" returns  for a fifth and final season is coming to midseason , along with a new drama, "The Passage".  
• A new "Cosmos" limited series will air in the spring. 
• "LA to Vegas" and "Ghosted" are still TBD if renewed or not. 
• "Bob's Burgers" moves from 7:30/6:30c ot 8:30/7:30c 
• Midseason : The Four, Beat Shazam, Gordon Ramsay's 24 hours to Hell and Back,  Love Connection, Masterchef, MasterChef Junior , Showtime at the Apollo, The Passage (new) , Proven Innocent (new) . 

      Here's the schedule  all times ET , new series highlighted in blue
 Monday 
   8PM  The Resident (new time slot)
   9PM  9-1-1 (new time slot)

Tuesday
    8PM  The Gifted (new slot)
    9PM Lethal Weapon (new time slot)

Wednesday
    8PM  Empire
    9PM  Star


Thursday
   8pm/ 5pt   Thursday Night Football

Friday
   8pm  Last Man Standing
   8:30PM  The Cool Kids 
    9PM   Hell's Kitchen

Saturday
  8PM  College Football

Sunday 
    8PM The Simpsons
    8:30PM  Bob's  Burgers (New Time Slot)
    9PM      Family Guy
    9:30PM   Rel 


Press release after the jump

Upfront 2018: NBC

NBC  TVLookFall2018  Upfronts 

        

            NBC released their fall schedule  for the 2018-2019 season.  There are some changes for the season and we note those now.

•     Law and Order : SVU moves to Thursday Nights following the comedy block 
•    The Chicago series of shows  get their own night , Wednesdays 
•    "Midnight, Texas" moves from summer to fall
•    "Brookyln Nine-Nine"  is coming to NBC in the mid season
•     "The Blacklist" returns in mid season 
•    Also, moving from summer is "World of Dance" which will take Sundays after Football.
•     "A.P Bio" and "Good Girls" are back in midseason.  
•   "Good Girls will air after "World of Dance" on Sundays  and "The Blacklist"  returns January taking the 9PM ET slot. 
•  "Abby's"  , "The Enemy Within" , "The Village" ,and "InBetween" are set to come in mid season. 

  Full schedule below  (new shows highlighted in blue) 

  All times ET

Monday

8PM    The Voice

10PM   Manifest  

Tuesday 

8PM The Voice

9PM  This is Us 

10PM  New Amsterdam 

Wednesday

8PM  Chicago Med (new time) 

9PM  Chicago Fire (new time) 

10PM   Chicago P.D 

Thursday 

8PM Superstore

8:30  The Good Place

9PM   Will & Grace 

9:30   I feel Bad  

10PM  Law &Order : SVU  (new night) 

Friday 

8PM  Blindsport 

9PM   Midnight Texas (new time slot ) 

10pm  Dateline 

Saturday 

8PM  Dateline Saturday Night 

10PM  Saturday Night Live (encores) 

Sunday 

7PM   Football Night in America 

8:20   NBC Sunday Night Football 

press release after the jump 

A Charlie Brown Lookback: It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown

Peanuts 

           Charlie Brown has a lot of baseball specials.   This is our second one in a row to cover.  We are looking "It's Spring Training, Charlie Brown".  This special came out in 1996 it was the only special that aired on TV didn't premiere on a  network.  It was supposed to air on CBS in 1992 but  CBS changed their minds and it never aired then it came out on VHS  in 1996 with Nickelodeon airing the special in 1998. (If Nick didn't air it, this would have been the the a third special that never aired on TV)     Did CBS pass this up for a reason? Let's find out.

               The special begins with snow. (What ? It CAN snow in spring you know)  Charlie Brown is shoveling the snow and then starts on a snow mound to be  a pitcher's mound because he's really into baseball.  Charlie Brown keeps yelling that it's spring training. (Poor CB is losing it)  All his player leave and he starts talking to a a snowman.

       Now it's not snowing and well it's now really time for some spring training .  Though, I am not sure how well the team will do.  Hey, there's Leland ,a minor character from the comics, who apparently might be Freida's brother. (In this special he apparently is)  Leland wants to try out for  a baseball team and he of course, goes to Charlie Brown's team.  Leland also thinks Lucy is pretty. (awww)  He asks Charlie Brown to try out and C.B gives him a chance.   (Honestly, Leland is a good as the other players on that team)

Leland  is an icon/ Copyright Peanuts 

     I'm going to note music here, because why not?  This is also the last special not have any scoring music written by Vince Guaraldi. Other specials after this one did reuse cuts or had other music but still used Guaraldi's cuts as well.  The music in this special for example  when Lucy and Charlie Brown are practicing  sounds very early 90's like the two of them are about to start rapping kind of sound.    This was the last special where Judy Munsen was a composer for , she worked on 14 Peanuts specials and two movies. 
 
     Lucy also wonders why the team doesn't have uniforms. (She didn't watch Charlie Brown's All Stars) Linus says that Lucy is right (I'm scared) they are the only team without uniforms.  Inspeaking of Charlie Brown's All Stars, Mr.Hennessey  is back. Yep, the hardware store owner says he will sponsor the team's uniforms if they win. (He's not a gambling man) They visit his hardware store where Snoopy gets attacked by hardware.  To be exact they have to win the first game of the season. Off note: When did Marcie leave Peppermint Patty's team to join CB's team?

See Marcie randomly there/ copyright Peanuts 

   It's the big game day. The best way to start a baseball game is the hockey pokey then Franklin raps.  It's the most 90's scene ever.
        

     
     After all that, the game begins.  Woah wait a minute , back to that  thing: What's Franklin doing on Charlie Brown's team? He's on Peppermint Patty's team , did they trade? I need a back story! Alright back to the game.  In standard Charlie Brown team fashion it doesn't  go well.   Then it starts going well.  (They did that on purpose)  Then it's Leland's turn.   Poor fellow gets two strikes then the ball gets stuck in helmet and he makes it to home,   The team wins 27-26.

ummm great team names/ copyright Peanuts

     Now his team gets their uniforms.  Leland quits the team because his uniform is too big. They play another game but it goes in normal Charlie Brown team fashion and they lose. (27-25)

Yay Uniforms though/ Copyright Peanuts

more after the jump

The Last Episode : Green Acres :When you don't even get a last episode.

The Flashback Essays 

       May is the month that is usually the home of season and series finales, since it's the end of the TV season. Many shows never have a chance to have  a planned finale since most most shows fail in catching on in the first place. This month we take a look at some examples of how shows made their ends. 

           "Green Acres" was a popular show in the 1960's it ran on CBS from 1965 to 1971. Since, this article is about last episode we talk about how ... wait a minute.  Green Acres really doesn't have an official series finale.   Many TV series in the last 50's and all through out the 60's were based in rural and or small town areas , CBS in particular.   They were mostly well revived and popular series that came out in this time.  Over the course of events in the 1960's  things were changing on the outfront and  one thing networks really wanted was to be part of the change.  Seeking younger viewers is something networks strive to do.  The idea was they starting to reject programming that didn't take place in urban areas, that didn't have young  people , or didn't fit with a social narrative of the times.  

     Maybe one day I'll talk about the so-called "Rural Purge" but since we are here to talk about "Green Acres" we are going to get to that but using the purge as a connector.   The Rural Purge as it is called is  what is called  a period of between 1970 to 1975 when networks  (especially CBS) decided to no longer have as much programming set in  non urban (read: hip, city folks) areas.   This series was doing well in ratings for the network. In fact, in it's last season it was in a block of programming where it aired Tuesdays at 8PMET/PT , after the other popular series that was rural purged , "The Beverly Hillbilly's", which aired at 7:30pm (more on that in a second) , and it was on before "He Haw" another show that was Rural Purged and if I ever talk about that show , it had that last laugh there.  

          Now the not last episodes , last episodes. 

         It's as if they were anticipating what CBS was doing  the people working on the show made two episodes that ended up being the last two  as back door pilots for new series that they in hoped to be new series.  Episode called "Hawaiian Honeymoon" which was a backdoor pilot for a hopeful series called "Pam".   The only connector that is was Green Acres was Oliver and Lisa going to Hawaii just to make sure CBS didn't get confused and somehow air the Green Acres theme but pop in a different show.  The next episode called "The Ex-Sectary"  did the same thing it had Oliver and Lisa be there at the start, trying to connect them to the story but the rest of the episode is a back door pilot for a show called "Carol" which also didn't  make.   Both these series pilots focused on a young woman in the working world  , the kind of idea CBS was looking for.  

   So the last episode that is "Green Acres" is the episode that aired on March  9th , 1971. This episode is called "Lisa the Psychologist" and it was a normal episode of the series.  It is a strange case  because there are many series that have not really had a finale because they were canceled before it could have one or the people working on the show didn't know it was going to end. The reason why I picked this case is because of the external things around its end.   

   Bringing back the 7:30pm thing now.  The FCC had made a new rule around early 70's to come into effect in the 1971  was that the hour before 8pm ET/ 7ct had to be given to local stations to help foster independent productions and local programming.  With the 7:30pm/6:30ct half hour not of access for network programming anymore, networks had to shave that time off and many programs got caught in the loop. Green Acres wasn't airing at 7:30  though.  Infact Tuesday of the next season CBS still started at 7:30 for the time being, they moved the "Glen Campbell GoodTime Hour" to Tuesdays taking the Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres slots. So it wasn't even rural purged and replaced with the shows CBS was replacing other things with but with one of the shows that manged to laugh at the purge for awhile. (Though Campbell's show was canned at the end of  the 1971-72 season.)  

     This wasn't a look at an episode in particular but, a look at how one show didn't get it's goodbye chance because of some external factors.  Also ironic because this show was about a city guy who wanted to move to the country to be a farmer and the series was ended because it wasn't in the city. (I will note that Rural purge is also included with series that didn't have a rural theme but also got canned too.)  

 I don't plan it this way but yes I have a blog post  because they did do a reunion movie for "Green Acres" which you can read about HERE . 

  Taking a break from this series of posts as we have other themed things do , but will be back to this topic later with sometimes a last episode is built up as a big going out party with an arc plot and everything. 

 Tune in next time when we replace all programs or remake current shows but they take place in the country now.  Imagine the fun of "Big Acres Theory". 

The Last Episode: Alf: The Finale that wasn't supposed to be

The Flashback Classics 

     May is the month that is usually the home of season and series finales, since it's the end of the TV season. Many shows never have a chance to have  a planned finale since most most shows fail in catching on in the first place. This month we take a look at some examples of how shows made their ends.

     Unlike the last show we looked at where it had a finale that they had planned this show didn't have that chance , but even more their finale left loose threads and this is a finale that wasn't supposed to  be one. We look at "Alf"  Consider Me Gone.   Though that would a good title for a finale.

        "Alf" had ran for four seasons on NBC from 1986 to 1990 and was popular where when the show wrapped up it's fourth season they had some well something, something to make sure that the fifth would start off fun but, plans changed.

      The episode  starts with Alf being his normal self  when eventually he picks up a signal that he thinks is from someone from  his home planet ,Melmac. His friends apparently have bought a planet and they want Alf to join him.  Alf is considering if he wants to leave or not. (Should I stay or should I go?) Meanwhile, the alien task force is also getting the signals and they wonder if it is aliens. (Insert picture of  guy on History Channel saying aliens here)  If Alf wants to leave he has only one chance to do so. He gives his answer  he decides that he wants to leave. The task force also captures Alf's signal back to his friends and know it's from Earth but not where it's from.

     The Tanner family is un happy that Alf is leaving (Well not Kate) at his going away party. They give him some gifts.   [Cutting away from the episode for a minute]  This scenes here would have actually made a good series finale, with Alf deciding to leave and the family saying goodbye. It has all the great workings of being a series finale and a fine one.  [more on that later]  So, Alf say his goodbye to the house as the family is going to drive him to spot where he's going to picked up.  The Alien Task Force finds out about the space craft is coming down and they of course, are going to do their thing. The aliens come done to pick up Alf when the Alien Task Force come from behind and his friends fly away in fear. The Task Force surrounds Al, and the original cut of the episode ends with to be continued.

       My personal note about this episode: When I was watching the series on repeats as a kid, I never knew the show ended  so when this episode came on and I saw the line to be continued, apparently the channel I had watched on it didn't use the cut where that doesn't appear (Amazon Prime Streaming's version for example doesn't have that message) and I  thought the next day when they were airing the first episode , i  thought I had somehow missed it or the channel messed up. I didn't know for years that this was how Alf ended.

    As said above, I feel the episode before the alien task force comes in and Alf's friends leave would  have actually made a great series finale for Alf.  Though, I will add the build up with the task force was also hinting to more than just a finale.  The people working on this show didn't know this was going to be the last episode and they had  made a two parter as an insurance policy and sadly, it ended  up being the last episode.  It is kind of funny how this show ended though , Alf crashes into  the world causes  a stir makes messes and the end of the whole thing it's a mess.  Many series do get unexpected or unplanned finales, because maybe the show was getting expensive or the network was trying a different direction or 892 other reasons.  Alf's finale is remembered because of the cliff hanger and it wasn't supposed end here it's like reading something in a book or something and it just.

       Alf did get some sort of reprieve  in 1996 thanks to ABC. We have written about that  HERE   

    Next time, some series don't get a chance to choose their finales, but what if a series never really had a chance to end and it's final episodes weren't even for the series?  That's Next time.

 Tune in next time,  after we get picked up by a space ship, we just got a call and we are going!  

The Last Episode : Leave it To Beaver. Saying Goodbye by looking back

The Flashback  Classics  Essay 

   May is the month that is usually the home of season and series finales, since it's the end of the TV season. Many shows never have a chance to have  a planned finale since most most shows fail in catching on in the first place. This month we take a look at some examples of how shows made their ends.  

   We start with "Leave it To Beaver"  this series is a classic sitcom that's still being rerun today even though it aired starting in 1957.  Funny enough, the finale episode we are looking at aired in June of 1963 so June not May.  "Beaver" had 234  episodes  and ran a span of 6 seasons.  It was running well , but some of the actors wanted to move on and so they got their wish. This episode is called "Family Scrapbook".     

      This episode is considered the first episode (ha) in a prime time series have an episode expressly written to be a finale, other series ended like normal.  Through this  process I will be looking at different kinds of series finales so this kind is called the finale that looks back at the series as away to say goodbye.

  

         It starts with June doing some cleaning and she finds a box with some old stuff . The stuff in the box brings June and Ward some memories then they find the scrapbook the episode is named after. It's full of old pictures and they decide to have the kids look at the book with them.   If you ever wondered by Theodore is called the Beaver this episode explains that.  The episode uses the pictures as a way to guide into clips of past episodes of the series. It shows  memorable events from the past six seasons. Yes, this episode is a clip show with the wrap round segments being the new content.  There's not much to say on what happens in the episode because of that.  Going to the last couple minutes of the episode Ward and June talk with each other and are talking about how they've grown  up while it cuts to Beaver and Wally laughing at a toy.  

       Over the time of watching this series, viewers watched for 6 years as the two boys grew up and the wondered what the family would do the next week. I consider this episode to be a thank you episode to the viewers for sticking by and enjoying the moments put together.  Clip shows aren't much of my thing but I like it used for the last episode more than say random episode in season 4 when a show needed something to fill time.  Beaver had grown up and was on his way to high school and Wally was on his way to other things  so it's a good time to end the series.

    

   This was also one of the first family sitcoms to look at things from the kids' point of view not Mom and Dad (Father Knows Best) and so the audience could identify as either currently a  child or remember their own childhoods.   Since Beaver was moving on to high school and we've done pretty much the high school plots with Wally it was good time.  To  get a little dark as an analogy  think of this episode as like when someone dies  and people look back the person's life this episode was that a look at this series as Beaver won't be on the air (as new episodes) anymore here's  the show's life and moments we were glad to share it with you. 

         Is this a good series finale? Yes, it has things you want in a finale a way to say goodbye to a series you love and one way is to remember what it brought you over the years.  

      Next time,  what happens if you  planned a whole big 2 part episode where one episode was the season finale and next was to be the new season premiere, but then you find out the show was canceled? That's what we talk about next in our journey of season finales with  Oh What? Damn you network!  

  Tune in next time when we shut down the blog and reminiscence about our episodes.  

Also on the Blog: 

   You know this thing that's been happening where they make continuation series of a series that ended like years before ?  (Fuller House, Raven's Home, Girl Meets World, etc..)  Beaver had that in the 80's I've written about that before.  HERE

A Look at Craig of the Creek

CARTOON NETWORK 


           This is kind of our first look at a Cartoon Network series, something we really don't do much so, this is a moment in Joshuaonline history.  The series we are looking at is called "Craig of the Creek" it premiered just in March of this year.

   As an example I will be using the first episode as our reviewing episode so that if it sounds interesting there's room to check out the other episodes. Join us.

       The episode starts with Craig doing some drawing in the kitchen when his older brother , Bernard, tells him to move because he has some English work to do.  So Craig moves to the living room but then gets booted out because his sister Jessica wants to watch CNBC. (Not literally but you know one of those stock market things)  He travels to the room where his father is exercising and that gets ruined because of the air from the bike.

Draw! Copyright Tuner 

      Craig then goes to the creek part of the show's title. There are his two friends Kelsey and J.P. Craig is working on an atlas of the known parts of the creek where legendary kids have been .  (ooh an Atlas)   There's an area that's filled with poison ivy. (I'm itchy thinking about it)  The three of them decide to go there wearing protective clothing pass through it to be come 'legends'. (or die trying.) They notice a rustling the poison ivy something is there.  J.P's suit gets a tear in it and they have lost their calamine lotion and there's something in the poison ivy still rustling.  They try to evade  it   but they've run out of trees.  Craig decides to run into the poison ivy to get help and risking his own not itchiness. He jumps down but then bounces back on the tree (because he is a witch, what? don't look at me like that.)  and he suggests they gotta jump that they found a trampoline under the ivy.  All 3 of them jump up and down then a kid wearing just shorts comes out of the ivy in mysterious fashion.

Copyright Turner 

       He was the one following them, he's called "The Scatch less one" . (That's the name of my band) Unlike most people he's immune to poison ivy.  He explains that didn't have anywhere else to go and has six brothers and sisters at home so this was the one place he couldn't be bothered. Craig decides not to be legendary and puts on the map a warning to keep out. (awww)

copyright Turner 

   That's the first episode.   more after the jump

A Garfield Lookback: Garfield's Babes and Bullets

The Flashback  Garfield 


         We did the Garfield related holiday specials as Lookbacks but much like "Peanuts" , "Garfield" did branch out into  TV specials. So we are starting another sub-series for a look at "Garfield" specials.   (Yay)  Much like the Peanuts specials reviews we aren't going in order of appearance we are going  just kind of in a flow.  Let's start with "Garfield's Babes and Bullets" (What?)

           This special came out in 1989 on  guess what network?  Yeah CBS. (The Charlie Brown Specials network , but we also have Garfield too)  On May 23rd to be exact.  Voice casting is as expected  with Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield, there's also Law Rawls singing.  Directed by Phil Roman like most of the specials.  It won an Primetime Emmy for Oustanding Animated program (One Hour or Less) in 1989.   Let's begin.

            Garfield is bored. So  of course he finds a trench coach and fedora  and ends up in a noir movie. (Just like real life)  The special turns black and white (saves on the coloring budget)  and Garfield plays  a private investigator  named Sam Spayed (Really? Double Checks. Oh oh my) who like classic noir movies,  narrates.  Of course since this a private detective  special a woman has to appear asking for for our hero's help. (They did another spayed joke too)  The woman says her husband was murdered and needs Sam's help.  (We are going with Garfield's character name here) The woman's name is Tanya O'Tabby.

Hey! She's not a tabby. /Copyright Garfield 

      Even the intro of the special is in black and white and Low Rawls sings the theme because of course.  Sam decides to take the case and look for who murdered Tanya's 23 year old college professor husband.  So Sam decides to go the morgue to look at Mr. O'Tabby's body.  I love the morgue guy ,Burt Fleebish, he's kind of  off but seems to enjoy his job.    Sam drives to the scene of the crime and runs into Tanya  who says that she's trying to figure out a clue of why her husband was there in the first place. They have coffee together and I think Sam has a thing for her.

Burt Feebish a Man of the town. 

     A big guy beats up Sam because you can't have a private detective thing without them being beaten up right ,Richard Diamond?   Sam goes to the college to ask another professor some questions.  This special mentions the world coffee alot.

Coffee so hot it seems from the side. 

        Sam starts to put together the clues  and we get an Odie appearance (first time this special) and he figures out who the murderer is , I won't reveal it so not spoil it , in case you want to see the special yourself.    Tanya shows up at the agency and they talk but their love will never be. (Saddest part of the special) Garfield tells his secretary , Kitty, how he figured out the case .  Also I think Kitty has a thing for Garfield. (So Happy  ending after all)

       My Review: First oh the jokes, they kept going in this special I didn't write them because that's would be a lot  and again watch the special to see the fun.  Yes Sam Spayed. They did about 3 of those jokes based off his name. It is funny the used the Sam Spade character name with their own twist.  The special did a good job of using the standard things you see in old detective movies having some twists on them and really being as fun as they could be with them.  I really had fun watching it.  The music fits very well , where they went with retro styled music then the background music really fit the mood.    You can also try and piece the clues together yourself and figure out who did the murder.    I can see why it won an Emmy in 1989 beating another Garfield special.   If you like noir films , noir parodys, or both this is your special, and if you like Garfield it's a bonus.  Well timed, well paced, funny, affectionate to what's parodying , has some good twists with it's parody, great animation, and wonderful music and acting give it try.

   That's our look back , tune in next time (as we put on our fedora and trench coat) after we solve this case.   

The Loud House: Season 2: Change of Heart /Making The Grade

Nickelodeon 

       We've done  a couple season 1 episodes halves of the Loud House  (which you can read here) so, It's time to do a couple season 2 episodes halves.  First there is a  rule that I didn't do in the first one for a good reason.   Since , season 2 has a few specials ( 2 holiday episodes and an hour long episode)  those wouldn't be counted for this. We'll maybe touch on the holiday specials around their respective holidays. 

     Like the last  TLH post we did it randomly in our episode picks so no bias in my picks  and makes it fun to go at  it raw.

         This is funny, the way the randomizer did it , this episode airs after the the other episode we are going to talk about.   This episode is the first half of episode 44 in the series over all. It aired on July 26th 2017.  Part of week of new episodes.

   
    Background of  the series and specifically the character Clyde.  Clyde has a thing for Lincoln's older sister Lori, he even the does the anime nose bleed thing around her. (gross) This episode starts with Clyde nose bleeding on Lori's shoes. (again ,gross)  It gives us a montage of Clyde doing that or the other thing he does where he's a robot and "system overloads" and still messes up her shoes with food. Lori , of course, is annoyed by this.  Clyde says he wants to act normal when  he's around Lori.


   Lincoln decides to get Leni, the 2nd oldest sister, to help with this situation. Lori sees Clyde and Leni hanging out with each other and she thinks that he's falling for  Leni. (I wonder what will happen) Lori's assumption makes her happy that maybe he's not interested in her anymore.   Lori then remembers the nice things Clyde did for her over time and this make her want to Clyde back. (what?)  Clyde  doing Leni's tips makes Lori think that he's not interested in her anymore.  Lori then over hears Clyde complementing Leni. (Who happens to be dressed like Lori at the time)

Clyde seems like he won the lottery but worried about the taxes

     Lori then decides to dress up to Leni. (If this was a different show  this would get dark)  Then she realizes  she doesn't need to do this  (very quickly too)  as Clyde comes over to try out the things he learned on Lori. Lori tells him that he's a special guy , but he nose bleeds on her shoes and passes out.  Lincoln explains the things she misheard and saw, then Clyde wakes up sees Lori and Leni (still dressed up like Lori) does his system overload thing and his nose bleed and leaves the house.

 more after the jump

The Loud House : Season 1 : Along Came a Sister/ Butterfly Effect

Nickelodeon 

      If you remember my "Arthur" lookbacks for the 20th anniversary, you know the structure of those where by random use I took an episode half from two seasons and did a look at them. Well we are doing the same here , but with a little difference. Since "The Loud House" hasn' t been on the air for 20 years (as of this writing) and only has so far 3 seasons (third just started in January)  we are going to look at two episodes from one season, in this case season 1.   So again this are random picks that  I used site to pick for me.  I had no say in which episodes would make it to this lucky lottery.

     Wait , what is the Loud House?
 
            The Loud House is an animated series about a family called the Louds  (they live in a house) they are an interesting family because the middle child. Lincoln is the only boy out of  11 kids. (Steady show) Episodes are about the characters and what ever antics bring them in a day.  This is the simplest description but the one that makes the most sense.

       For reference the sisters' names are in order of age  : Lori, Leni, Luan, Lynn Jr. (Lincoln goes between these two)  Lucy, Lana, Lola (Lana and Lola are twins) , Lisa, and Lilly.


     Season 1 premiered in 2016 on Nickelodeon it has 26 episodes (or 52 half episodes / 11 minutes )  All the episodes ran in 2016.

    Along Came a Sister   first aired on May 4th 2016 as part of a week of premieres when the show first started.   So let's take a look at the episode.   (finally , after all your yapping up there)

 

          The episode starts with Lincoln getting to watch the class spider for the weekend, he really wanted to watch it.  Lincoln takes Frank , the spider, home  and Clyde , Lincoln's best friend,  tells him that Leni , the second oldest sister, would be terrified of the spider.  Lincoln likes plans (he's the plan man) and sneaks into the house with Frank easily. He makes it to his room but we need something to happen let's see.... oh hey Lana.  Lana comes into the room to borrow something and she sees the spider and she's excited by it ,Lola and Lisa also get enamored  by our eight legged friend. (he's our friend? I don't know him)   The other sisters that aren't Leni finally all crowd in impressed by the spider repeatedly asking if Leni has seen it.   

Hey! You are breaking like 30 fire codes! / Copyright Viacom 

      Leni doesn't see it because the others did a good job at blocking the cage (container).  Frank gets out of the cage (they called it cage, leave me alone)  and so the mission is to find ole Frank before Leni does.  After trying to evade the non Leni sisters  they eventually figure out why he's acting weird after he tells them.  They join in the mission to find Frank. 

needed picture of the spider 

No they aren't disappointed by her smoothie./Copyright Viacom 

      Frank falls into Leni's cup and now she reacts to what their worries were by screaming then spraying bug spray. Poor Ole Frank is  dead.  (cries)  So the Loud siblings that aren't Leni  have a funeral. Leni overhears Lincoln defending her in the death of the spider.  Cliff the cat  coughs up a hairball that looks like the dead Frank, and they add 2+2 and well that's not Frank.  (Frank lives!)  Their father is heard screaming because spider. (He has a fear of them too)   He calls  the world's fastest exterminator ever. (Like one that is just to eager to kill) 

He seems a little too into his job/copyright Viacom

      The Louds find ways to stop exterminator while, Lincoln goes and looks for Frank.  When it looks like it's all over, there's a savior! Leni!  Leni saves Frank from the death and the kill happy exterminator leaves.  Lisa (the smartest sister)  then remarks it's strange that a girl spider is named Frank , Lincoln is surprised by that. (Hey Frank is a great girl name,)  Also Frank is pregnant.  Episode ends with Frank's babies scaring Leni. 

more after the jump