A Charlie Brown Watch: Lucy's School

Peanuts 

 

      Another special?  WildBrain and Apple have decided that after like 10-years of no new specials to just make a bunch and release them over a period of 8 months.  They made 4, this is the 4th one , now in total count of television specials we've reached 49.   They did the Snoopy Presents title again, and it's just "Lucy's School", so that's fun.   Actually, that they've not done much Charlie Brown focus in these specials is something else as well.  Part of this post will be me being pedantic, but that's how I am with Peanuts. 

          It might be hard for some to remember, while for others it might be fresh, but I am talking about the last day of school, for the school year. Though, not the way it's depicted here waiting in the classroom for the the final minutes, my last day of schools were always more casual, and  had sometimes had a mixture of melancholy because some wouldn't be coming back the next school year for whatever reason. I grew up in a place where some of the kids were from military families and moved and stuff.  The special starts with the feeling you get on the last day of school a countdown to beginning of what's seen as the best time of the kid year- summer vacation. 

They want to have their 104 days of summer vacation/Copyright Peanuts 

   

    It shows the school empty except this one classroom where Charlie Brown and friend are quiet, minus Peppermint Patty snoring, and the only noise you hear is the clock deeply ticking. You get the feeling of tense waiting and it's well done. They also get to show off some of their animation which again, in these specials have been nice. 

    Nit Pick #1 It shows Peppermint Patty and Franklin in the same school as Charlie Brown, so yeah holding that well guys. Though sometimes in some specials they would be shown in the same class/school as Chuck it's a something to nitpick.    

   

        

      The bell rings and it's summer.  There's a summer song that sounds like someone wanted the Beach Boys, but also wanted the Chordettes, and wanted them to be drunk. It's a montage song and pretty fun to see the fun of summer. (Even though summer is hot and annoying) It's still kind of funny to see them have Patty and Peppermint Patty co-exist.  The song dies and there's a giant sign that says "Back to School Sale" coming. I like how that's depicted too, it's like a looming danger which it does feel to a kid, the looming danger of the end of fun.  

Doom / Copyright Peanuts 

           The one week left until school, also apparently the Peanuts tribe are going to a new school, which brings me questions.  Mostly, what? Why? Did they age the peanuts oddly, what?  I'm confused. The others are nervous that the new school is huge and different. Lucy wasn't nervous but then gets more nervous. 

    

     I guess the idea here to show the fear of starting a new school, though being oddly vague at the idea that they apparently are going to a school where there are also bigger kids, that would only imply like middle school or something, which is what?   

More after the jump

Weekendering: The Weekenders : Season 2: Episode 2: To Each His Own/ Diary

The Weekenders  Disney 

Previously: Radio Drama causes drama and traditions are important   Read here 

Episode 2a: To Each His Own

          Usually the focus of this show is seeing the whole group usually doing weekend stuff together, hence the name of the show. They do have common interests and are good friends but they also have their own interests.  They are having a meeting about what they want to do for the weekend, since the last weekend was all homework. (fun)

        They all have different things they want do; Tina decides to channel his mother and have them compromise and they all do everything, which is a good plan. Will it go well? (That's the question) 

       Carver's event  is looking at new shoes, because he likes shoes. The others aren't having fun. Then it flips to Lor's event which is Scottish games. Which is interesting. The other aren't enjoying this either.  Next, it's Tish's event and the same thing happens where only one of them is enjoying and the rest are bored out of their minds. 

          Here's where the episode makes a turn, Tino's event is the next day, The Capitan DreadNaught convention. Carver decides he's not going to go to the event, this causes the other two to join in.  Even though, Tino did sit through their events, and he couldn't enjoy the convention.  Tino's mom tells him that maybe they should have compromised by finding something they all like. 

      This is a good episode, and it expresses the good characterizations of the characters and showing how they do find things they have a shared interest in and wanting to keep some bonds even if they have separate things they want to do.  7//10

More after the jump

Coming Through the Back Door: The Brady Bunch: Kelly's Kids

Backdoor Pilots   The Brady Bunch  The Flashback 

      I haven't done a post related to a back door pilot in sometime or the Brady Bunch, which is also odd, so let's do it! 

 

            I remember this episode of The Brady Bunch  watching it (reruns) as a kid and being confused as to where the Bradys went.   Being a kid and not knowing everything (what?)  and not knowing a) this was reruns and b) what a backdoor pilot was, this episode got to me.   I came here to watch "The Brady Bunch" where are they?  

       

         This backdoor pilot is from season 5 which would also happen to be the final season of the series.   Season 5 is genuinely kind of odd it kind of becomes.  There's an episode where  Greg steals a goat and the parents think that he's hiding a girl in his room which is the goat, but woah.  There's an episode where Greg gets Peter to dress up as a some other guy named "Phil Packer"  and it's gets weird.  Though I do like there's a random episode where they go to Cincinnati, not often do you get shows just going to Cincinnati as a plot line.   I will add that I love "Never Too Young" (that's also my Bobby's my favorite kid Brady bias)  

      This is the season they really don't know what to do with Cindy, they want to keep her "the youngest one in curls" but she's not that young anymore and they didn't want to write older plots for her as much because they did it Jan before so... uhhh I don't know. They also added Cousin Oliver, who really can't be blamed for "ruining the show" the show was dying, he came in January 25, 1974, the series finale aired on March 8th  so really at this point the network was like "ehhh, who cares we're not going to continue this" but you know reasons. 

     

     Oh yeah our episode is from January 4, 1974, it's called "Kelly's Kids" . You can also tell maybe that Sherwood Schwartz, the creator, was also looking to find another show make, feeling that this show was on the way out.  

   

            You what be interesting? The Bradys have neighbors but we see them so why not make up a neighbor couple and see where that goes. (The pitch meeting for "The Ropers")  This back door pilot starts with telling you that Ken Barry  and Brooke Bundy are in this episode.

      Ken Barry, oddly, had experience in taking over a show after the main actor leaves and becoming it's own show.  He was featured in episodes The Andy Griffith Show as a widowed father named Sam Jones to then take up the leading role in the spin-off called "Mayberry R.F.D" where he plays a single widowed father with a young son. (So the viewers wouldn't be scared that Andy left or something,)  That show was purged during CBS' we need TV shows to be hip  modern and no more rural...  era.   In this Brady Bunch episode he plays a man maned Ken Kelly. 

     Brooke Bundy was doing roles in different shows since the 1960's she was in alot of shows like "The Donna Reed Show" , "My Three Sons" , "Wagon Train", etc.. if "Kelly's Kids" had become a series, it would have been her first starring TV show role. She played Kathy Kelly. (They need to calm down) 

           The episode starts by tricking the Brady Bunch viewers into thinking it's a normal episode, like that episode where Mike's Grandpa ends up marrying Carol's Grandma.  Then it goes to the family room and Carol and Mike are talking to Kathy and Ken. Ken is talking about they are adopting a child.

So we noticed you have 6, can we have one?/ Copyright Paramount

 

     

       The Brady Bunch was a unique  show at the time, there wasn't really anything about a blended family in a show.  We don't get it much it much now in TV.  The idea of a show about a family with adopted son is very different to what TV was doing at the time... interesting for the concept.  

     

       The adopted child is named Matt, who is played by Tood Lookinland, this kid is the younger brother of Mike Lookinland who is Bobby Brady. (fun) Like his brother, he also was doing some acting and  he would even appear in a an American adaptation series of the Swedish movie "The New Land" later in 1974.   

   

          Like I said, the episode baits with Brady's and switches to show us  Matt Kelly now being introduced to his family and we are in their house.  The laugh track needs to calm down.  Anyway,  you know what a spinoff needs there's a woman named Mrs. Payne (obvious name is obvious)  her job is to be annoying. She comes in and says "uh you have kids, ew" even more "eww, adopted child, I don't have children, eww boys ,eww children"  This is also Molly Dodd's second time playing in the show and she's a good actress, and she's good here playing this woman we aren't supposed to like or something.  Laugh track tells me I'm supposed to laugh. 

ha ha ha? / Copyright Paramount

          Kathy was talking to Carol on the phone, and that's for us to remember this is supposed to be "The Brady Bunch"  she is worried that Matt is lonely so her idea is to get another kid.  Matt's been with them for... 1 day... and she's worried he's lonely. What? This is kind of forcing things, they barely showed Matt being lonely or whatever.  The next day, they decide to go to the adoption orphan house whatever it is , and they ask for a 2nd kid. (can we do that?) 

                                  I'm stunned most people drop off kids not come back for more/ Copyright Paramount

    They are interested in two good friends of Matt named Dwyane and Steve. To add a little more to this, Dwyane is African American and Steve is Asian.  Back to how much speed running is going on here. the Kellys are thinking up something the original idea was to adopt one more kid, on the 2nd day they just adopted one, but you know speed running, but now as they talk to the Bradys because they are trying to remind me that this is in fact, the Brady Bunch.  

    Anyway, the Kellys decide the logical choice is to adopt both Dwayne and Steve. We're 9 minutes in and about 2 days of stuff and they've too fast. (I wouldn't trust this couple they do things too on the fast lane, they need to calm down and think) 

More after the jump

Days of Our Lives Leaving NBC After 57 years

NBC Peacock Soaps TV News  Opinion 

            It's been awhile since soap news has been presented here, and really the last big move was in 2011 when ABC announced the ends of One Life to Live and All My Children those soaps then ended up in some development  hell , streamed for a while then ended  after that.  There's only 4 network soaps left. NBC has been down to one soap since the cancelation of Passions in 2007 for a 4th hour of "The Today Show". 

        Wednesday, Vulture reported that Days of Our Lives will be moving from NBC to the  NBC Universals owned streaming service, Peacock, from September 12th. After 57 years on NBC and network TV, this means the show will be moving to an on demand pay platform and that NBC, the network, is out of the soap business themselves. (The chance of them making a new soap is probably higher than winning the lottery, but lower than being struck by lightning)  As of this writing, NBC hasn't said what's happening to the hour long slot.  NBC is replacing it with a new show called "NBC News Daily" 

        Days has had some streaming life, episodes run on Peacock, and it even had a spinoff "Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem" which has had 2 seasons and 10 episodes.  Vulture also notes of the 4 daytime soaps it's the lowest rated.  NBC and Sony, who make the show, have come close in the past few years with nearby cancelations, though it was recently renewed in 2021 for two more seasons.  

     The unknown question is if this will help the soap or will this cause it wither and  eventually just go away? In other words, can the daytime show model work in streaming? That also seems to be test try as Amazon has been trying with another daytime mainstay, the court show and Judge Judy with her new series "Judy Justice".  The idea of a soap was a daytime serial , new episode each day, but at a set time and watched during the day. When Soap Net existed, it did offer a chance to see it again, and with on-demand options as well, but there is something about having a linear slot and space that might not be in the advantage of moving this show. That's hard too tell. I'd hope that there would be something that keeps it going for a long time. 

  

     Will it drive people to the streaming service? Uhhhhh, again unknown. The other thing will this encourage  CBS or ABC or both to decide to move their soaps to their corporate streaming sisters?  That opens the possibility of an idea that could happen, but it's hard to know for the best. On the bright side, there won't be any news preemptions. 

         It's not like NBC, or any other network is going to replace a soap with anything that might be fun to watch or even a new soap, they'll find some cheaper, maybe news or talk based because it's easy and less risk.  ABC has a third hour of GMA as a  daytime show, CBS has The Talk as a replacement to a soap slot. 

   

     I hope the best for  Days and hope it can continue to do well enough to continue, in this "Streaming is the Future ™" world or something.  Anyway, these truly are the Days of our Lives.  

Press release after the jump

The Flashback: Rugrats: All Growed-Up

Nickelodeon  The Flashback  Rugrats 

         It's hard to state to someone how big "Rugrats" was as series unless you were around that time. The 10th anniversary of the series on  Nickelodeon was big, they went out doing multiple marathons and events and programming.  

  

        They really ramped up the events in summer of 2001, and they started promoting one big event special. The plot of the special is what if the Rugrats characters you know and love were 10 years older? (like Chuckie would be 12)  Like what if the characters aged up like if the show went real time?  This is something that some fans probably wondered themselves and did their own takes  but the show doing it is kind of fun. 

     

          Rugrats in history for Nickelodeon was its most popular animated and possibly over all series, though by 2001, SpongeBob was coming in to its own.  Rugrats originally ran for 3 seasons between 1991-1994, but had gained love and attention , and viewers to enough to gain two specials then come back for a new season in 1997.  They gave it a movie in 1998, where they introduced a new character named Dil. Dil  was added to series in the next season. Then it gets a 2nd theatrical movie in 2000, and they give Chuckie a step mom and sister.  

    

            The series had gone a long way in 10-years and this is when animated series didn't last 10 years, it wasn't a thing.   Shows did 65 to 100 episodes were happy to do that, since that was the way television for kids was, and it makes sense since you do enough episodes where the audience ages out and you have room and budget for new series , and the reruns feel new to the new audience.  Rugrats reaching 10 years is big.    

 

            Coming from me, I'm a big Rugrats fan,  it has managed to stay on top as my favorite Nicktoon series and this special was exciting.   Fun fact "All Growed Up" is still Nickelodeon's most watched broadcast. (source)

      

        So let's take a look at this special.

      

       This special was heavily marketed  and the main idea was that we get to see Rugrats being 10 years older, walking and talking... uh.... I mean walking and talking as older kids.   It starts with a plot device movie the Rugrats are watching, about some guy making a time machine to go to the future.  This movie is interesting, they should have made this.  Tommy is interested in the movie's plot and wonders what it would be like to go the future. Chuckie (my favorite Rugrat) once again says something that  always hits right, this time what if the future is scarier than now?  He knows all. 

                Angelica shows up and wants to torture us , and I mean us with her bad singing. She has the other plot device, her a karaoke machine. (I curse the day Drew and Charlotte got together, curse it) She doesn't want the others to play with it because Angelica.  She uses the fact that apparently everyone forgets that she's evil  to make it where the other's get blamed for her mess. (I curse the day Drew and Charlotte got together, curse it!) 

Having Angelica sing should be considered torture/ Copyright Paramount

                 Tommy decides to play with Angelica's machine because he's tired of Angelica. He refuses to give it back to her in  a power move.  This causes our plot to get into action, where the others use a 'time machine' to go to the future.  (Good thing Tommy didn't watch a different movie, that'd cause different results)  

 

       Now it gets to what the audience came to see, older Rugrats.  They did give Tommy hair, the same color as his father's,  I wonder what color that is considered in their world?  (Tommy didn't have a shaved head, that could have worked too) It shows our favorite characters exiting the same closet they ran into from Angelica to meet older Angelica.  They also have Dil having the same hair color as Didi which is also a nice touch.    

Me when Angelica says she's going to sing/ Copyright Paramount 

    

             The designs of our older Rugrats  are fun, Angelica has the same colors she wore as a 3-year-old , Tommy still has his blue in a baseball tee, Chuckie hasn't changed much, his shirt still has Saturn on it, it's just been switched to a button up shirt, he has green pants, and his shoes are still red, there's a nice egg of showing one shoe is untied.  Phil has the duck shirt, so does Lil, she also has a bow. Kimi has her same  hair style, same colors. Dil had  has the same colors as his onesie. This is nice little touch to show that, and yeah it might be how realistically they would dress up in the future, though I think they still would be friends. 

They live in the same neighborhood, close in age, it's economics/Copyright Paramount

            So there is a plot here, the kids are getting ready to see a Emica concert with the goal of being called on stage to sing with her.  There's also Stu who is dressed like disco man, which is kind of fun call back of that one episode where the Rugrats sold all of Stu and Didi's stuff; and that includes a disco suit.  (Disco Stu, one could say)   He's wearing a lucky zodiac necklace to a disco dance. This will be important too.  

More after the jump

Weekendering: The Weekenders : Season 2: Episode 1: Radio Drama/ The Tradition

The Weekenders Disney 

    Previously  on Joshuaonline, we looked at the series "The Weekenders" through the entirety of Season 1.   Which you can read starting from here . Then there was a backlog and a mess and some other stuff, so ooh... anyway. 

   

     We are starting our look at season 2. This season was longer than season 1 so it had 13 episodes with 25 segments.  This season started on ABC on September 9, 2000.  

   

  Basic premise of the show in case you want to jump into season 2 without reading about season 1 is 4 friends  hanging out and doing things on the weekend. The show mostly takes place from Friday afternoon to Sunday night.  The episodes are about  middle schoolers named Tino Tonitini,  Lor McQuarrie, Carver Descartes, and Tish Katsufrakis  who hang out and life lessons on the best days of kid life.  

   

          What makes this show fun is that it can do that, whilst making fun stories that happen only on a certain part of time, it's like how Recess can do that with well, recess. 

    Let's get started...  

 Episode 1a: Radio Drama 

  

          Tino, Lor, and Carver want to spend a nice do nothing weekend but since that won't be interesting to the viewers, Tish comes in with the plot: she wants her friends to join her in working on a radio play for a contest. She just signed her friends up to work on a radio play and well the other three aren't as interested as say Tish. 

   

          Tish wants to do it because of college stuff. (yes) She convinces her friends to decide to do a play.  Well kind of, they don't want to do hard work and let Tish do everything, which might be a mistake. (If you've been paying attention, it will be)  Tish's play is about a story from her parents' homeland, she changed the setting to the pre Civil War south , because what Californians know best is the period of America in the South before 1861. (Also all the kids love that time period, they won't shut up about it) 

         The episode does show that Tish kind of went overboard on this play like making them wear costumes (for a radio play, which makes it funnier when after that question is asked, they are back to their normal clothes.) Later at the pizza shop, the friends tell Tish they are quitting because Tish is being too controlling. 

  

        This fight doesn't last long because they to have Tish maybe try something else.  She comes back later and changes the play to a story about Minnesota, zombies and marriage and something.  It sounds more insane now.  This goes badly.  So Thankfully, they decide this isn't working and make a fun play instead.  It skips to next Friday, where they won with their fun play.   

    

      A simple episode with some fun to it. The episode doesn't hamper down with it's conflicts it and does a way to show that there's no direct wrong and right persons, but that they were all kind of a mess not understanding each other and also not having fun.  A  good episode and a good start to the new season.  7/10 

 We continue after the jump

2022 Primetime Emmy's Nominations

Emmys  Primetime 

        The 74th  Emmy Awards take place on September 12 on NBC, and today the nominations are out. 

Outstanding comedy series

“Abbott Elementary”

“Barry”

“Curb Your Enthusiasm”

“Hacks”

“Only Murders in the Building”

“Ted Lasso”

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

“What We Do in the Shadows”


Lead actor in a comedy series

Donald Glover, “Atlanta”

Bill Hader, “Barry”

Nicholas Hoult, “The Great”

Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building”

Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building”

Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso”

Lead actress in a comedy series

Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”

Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”

Elle Fanning, “The Great”

Issa Rae, “Insecure”

Jean Smart, “Hacks”

Supporting actor in a comedy series

Anthony Carrigan, “Barry”

Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso”

Toheed Jimoh, “Ted Lasso”

Nick Mohammed, “Ted Lasso”

Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Tyler James Williams, “Abbott Elementary”

Henry Winkler, “Barry”

Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”

Supporting actress in a comedy series

Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”

Janelle James, “Abbott Elementary”

Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”

Sarah Niles, “Ted Lasso”

Sheryl Lee Ralph, “Abbott Elementary”

Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”

Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso”

More after the jump

The CW Announces Fall Premiere Dates

TVLookFall 2022   The CW 

        The newer leaner uncertain future CW has released it's fall premiere dates.  In true CW fashion they will premiere their fall in October, minus DC's StarGirl which starts August 31.  

   

      The CW line up has debuts of new legal drama Family Law, A Walker spinoff prequel : Walker Independence, and a Supernatural prequel The Winchesters. 

  

 Here's the line up all  times ET/PT/ Denver and Saint Louis (unless other wise noted) 

       

Wednesday, August 31 

8pm DC's Stargirl 

9pm Wellington Paranormal (Original Episode) 

9:30  Wellington Paranormal (Encore Episode)

Sunday, October 2

8pm  Family Law (Series Premiere) 

9pm Coroner (Series Premiere) 

Wednesday, October 5

8pm DC'S Stargirl (Original Episode) 

9pm  Kung Fu (Season Premiere) 

Thursday, October 6 

8pm  Walker (Season Premiere) 

9pm  Walker : Independence (Series Premiere) 

Friday,  October  7

8-10pm  I heartradio Music Festival (night one) 

Saturday,  October 8 

8-10pm  I heartradio Music Festival (night two)

Monday,  October  10 

8pm  All American (Season Premiere) 

9pm All American : Homecoming (Season Premiere) 

Tuesday, October 11

8pm The Winchesters (Series Premiere) 

9pm Professionals (Series Premiere) 

Friday,  October  14 

8pm  Penn& Teller : Fool Us (Season Premiere) 

9pm  Whose Line is it Anyway? (Season Premiere) 

9:30pm Whose Line is Anyway? (Encore Episode)  

Saturday,  October  22

8pm   Criss Angel's Magic with the Stars (Series Premiere) 

9pm World's Funniest Animals (Season Premiere) 

9:30pm World's Funniest Animals (Original episode) 

Press Release after the Jump