Switched to Match Game '77 as I looked something up online. Anson Williams and Mary Ann Mobley joined in to see Rich wearing glasses with springy eyes in the opening. The second episode had Brett give the obvious answer to "__ Gin" in the Audience Match. Fannie also mentioned she was shooting Grease (she had a cameo as the nurse in the Rydell High office whose castor oil was missing), and there was Richard's less-obvious answer to "Olivia __."
Let Tattletales run while I finished cleaning my rooms. They skipped waaaay ahead to mid-1977, as Betty White and Allen Ludden are joined by Eddie Mekka and his then-girlfriend Shirley Kirkes and Jamie Farr and his wife Joy. Although Betty and Allen played well enough, they missed one question in each episode that lost them the game. Jamie and his pretty and sweet wife Joy got it both times.
Had lunch while watching Garfield and Friends on Tubi. Jon's third cousin left Garfield a priceless gem, one often joked about on the show. His partner thinks it should be his. Garfield doesn't believe in "The Curse of the Klopman Diamond," until strange things start happening to him. The crew at U.S Acres are cleaning up the farm, and they think that also means Orson's waller. Orson explains why it's "Mud Sweet Mud" to him. "Rainy Day Dreams" may help Odie and Garfield get through a boring afternoon, but they also get in the way of Jon and his date, until Garfield inadvertently reveals what she's really after.
Headed out after lunch to run a few errands. First stop was the Collingswood PNC Bank for money and rent. There was a long line at the drive-through blocking the outdoor ATMs, so I had to use the inside one. And even then, I still had to wait for a lady to finish.
Made my way down Cuthbert to the Haddon Township Library next. I'd love to find some books on figuring out who you are. I wish I knew myself better. I saw books on job hunting, but I'll never find a job if I can't figure out what I value and what I really want. I left with nothing.
My next stop was originally going to be the Westmont Farm Market on a side street off Haddon Avenue. They used to have it every Wednesday evening, but...when I arrived, the street was empty. All I saw was cars. I rode around for nearly 20 minutes, wondering if I missed it. Didn't see anything out of the ordinary. I was so disappointed! The Haddon Township community website said they still had it. They were the only farm market on weekdays. I won't have time this weekend. I did treat myself to a sugar cookie at MacMillan's Bakery and a Propel at WaWa, but I never saw any farm markets.
The traffic was so bad by 5 PM, I went home via Newton Lake Park. They weren't as busy. A gaggle of Canadian geese ran from me and from an oncoming car. Saw a few joggers on the path and a couple of kids riding home, but no one else. I took the shortcut over the hill and through the woods past the Haddon Township Environmental and Historical Society building. At least the day remained cloudy and cool, if extremely humid.
Worked on writing when I got in. Joyce throws corn cobs to scare off the crows who peck at Charles. Rover growls to get rid of them. Charles laments that he can't get rid of them himself. He's not scary enough. He doesn't have enough brains left to scare them.
Broke at 7 PM for Match Game '79. Bart Braverman gets to help with "__ of Salt" in the Head-to-Head in the first episode. Barbara Rhodes discusses her upcoming show Mr. Dooley...which was later renamed Mr. Dugan before it was yanked from the schedule and never aired. In the second episode, Charles wins the Head-to-Head question holder, and Fannie and Gene discuss the Love Boat episode they did together.
Finished the night with Jim Henson's The Storyteller. I'm surprised I missed this as a kid in 1987. I've always loved fairy tales. A strange little man (John Hurt) and his dog (Brian Henson) tell lesser-known fairy tales from Europe before the fire. "The Three Ravens" is basically a variation on "The Six Swans." A wicked witch curses three princes into ravens. Their sister can't speak for three years in order to release them. She does manage to marry a handsome prince in the interim, but even then, the witch causes trouble when she steals her children.
"The True Bride" is the German "True Bride" crossed with the Norwegian "East of the Sun and West of the Moon." A young girl who is the servant to a troll gets help with his impossible tasks from a lion. After the lion builds her a castle, the troll falls through a door to his death. The girl intends to make the handsome gardener her prince, but the troll's daughter drugs him to forget her. She has to rescue him from the Troll's potions and scheming.
"Sapsorrow" is "Donkeyskin" under another name and crossed with "Cinderella." The princess who is forced to marry her father has two nasty sisters, she wears many different animal furs instead of just a donkey skin, and the prince calls the girls of the kingdom to see whose foot fits a beaded slipper rather than a glass one. She also dances with the prince for three nights, in dresses of moonlight, starlight, and sunlight.
While it's obviously lower budget than the Jim Henson fantasy movies like Labyrinth, that does allow for some creative effect work. Some of it looks better than others. I thought the ravens moved much better than the lion in "True Bride," for instance. There's a few stars or stars-to-be among the royalty as well, including Joely Richardson as the unfortunate princess in "The Three Ravens," Sean Bean as the True Bride's wayward prince, Alison Doody as Sapsorrow, and Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as her silly sisters.
Overall, I enjoyed it and really wish Henson had been able to do more than two seasons. I'll absolutely check out the remaining episodes and the next season based around Greek mythology, too.
Bob Barker appeared in one of the funniest weeks of late 1975. He and Arlene Francis saw Carol Bartos become the top winner on Match Game at that point. Carol was good friends with the previous big winner Janet Finn, and even brought a corner of her winning blue card for good luck. It sure worked. Carol just kept winning, even Gene found a hammer in his pocket and Bob tried selling it to the audience.
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