Out In the Sunshine

Started off the morning with breakfast and a double dose of Paw Patrol. Cap'n Turnbot and Danny are counting polar bears, but Turnbot's ship crashes into the ice. When the ice under two cubs breaks and sends them adrift in the ocean, the "Pups Save the Polar Bears" and get them back safely to their mother. Marshall is "A Pup In Sheep's Clothing" when he dresses as a sheep to find out who has been making holes in the farmer's fence. 

"Pups Save a School Bus" after Adventure Bay's bus gets four flat tires. Ryder volunteers to drive the kids to school in the pups' bus, but then Alex takes off in Chase's car and the pups have to go after him. "Pups Save the Songbirds" when they vanish suddenly, and Mayor Humdinger is involved.

Let Family Feud run while I made my grocery list and got my schedule. In good news, three days off, more hours. In bad news, two 8 1/2 hour days. No idea what's going on there. I don't usually work that long on the head bagger's days off. Maybe one of the college-age baggers who usually work in the afternoons went on vacation.

Headed off to do this week's grocery shopping after I got off the computer. Restocked coconut milk, granola bars, and bananas at Sprouts. Thought I'd try their dried pineapple this week and a buy one, get one free deal on Live, a new probiotic soda. Grabbed chocolate chips for a recipe I never got a chance to make later in the day. Dropped off the remaining Mercedes Lackey books I finally finished before heading down Cuthbert Road to the Acme. 

The Westmont Acme was even less busy than Sprouts was. It's the last day of the month and the weather continues to be beautiful. I was mainly there to pick up yogurt, Kind kids bars on a good sale, and bagels for lunch at work next week. Found a bag of blood oranges for a good price and more of that tasty Slice soda on sale. (I don't remember Slice being that good when I was a kid!) Spices were buy 2, get one free, so I restocked cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Picked up chai tea and provolone cheese for dinner.

Had lunch when I got in, then went through the bin of the random doll clothes and items. The boxes I use for the dolls' clothing are now big enough to fit their pajamas and coats, and I don't need nearly all of the hangers I have. I found a few accessories I'd been looking for too, including Samantha's purse and two scarves I made for the dolls years ago. I moved the tote bags to the big Marshalls bag and switched the dolls' accessories and the Cabbage Patch Dolls' clothing to the bin that held the tote bags. The plastic bag that held my linens and out-of-season quilts was falling apart, so I moved those to the other bin.

Let Buzzr run while I worked, starting with The Price Is Right. Bob asked the ladies in the second episode what they were up to. As it turned out, not a lot. Dian claimed to be seeing someone, Holly had her eye on a guy, and Janice was engaged. The Showcases were a hoot and a half. The big theme on the first episode had "adventures," which mainly meant trips and a boat. The second episode featured a hilarious spoof of Trivial Pursuit, with Holly answering "Texas Ranger" to every question. 

The second episode also featured the rare mini-game "On the Nose." The contestant guesses the prices of four items. However many prices he gets right is the amount of tries he has to play a game, like throwing a baseball or a football. Though the contestant did win (with only one try!), I can see why this game didn't last long. Not everyone has that good of an arm (or gets that lucky), and sports and prices are really kind of an odd mix.

Match Game Syndicated had its own fun. Gene and Charles spent the first episode teasing Arte Johnson and comedian Ronny Graham for bringing purse-like bags onstage. For some reason, Steve Kanaly of Dallas has not cleared his syndicated week (though his PM episode has run), so they skipped straight into the week with Bill Cullen, Lee Merriweather, and Bill Daily. Bill Daily was extra-squirrely that week, especially when someone would have to call on him for the Audience Match and he'd either make faces or hide.

Finished the night honoring the late Gene Hackman with a genuine rarity from 1975. Lucky Lady has Liza Minnelli as blousy widow Claire who hooks up with Walker (Burt Reynolds) in order to wind up her business affairs in Tijuana, Mexico in 1930. After an attempt to smuggle illegal Mexican immigrants doesn't work out, they join rumrunner Kibby (Hackman) and his young captain Billy (Robby Benson) to do a different kind of smuggling. Even with the Coast Guard after them, they make enough money on the liquor shipment to net them a cushy home, repairs on Kibby's boat the Lady Luck, and a wealthy swain for Claire. 

The Coast Guard aren't the only ones on their tail. When Kibby and Walker are ambushed by east coast gangster McTeague (John Hillerman), they lose Billy, their shipment, and the Lady Luck. Horrified, Claire runs out on a dinner party and joins them to round up every rummy on the West coast and show those East Coast crooks they don't know as much about the business as they think.

While not the greatest thing ever, this charming caper does have its good points. The production is gorgeous, with pitch-perfect period gowns for Minnelli and suits for the guys. I actually like that she doesn't decide between the guys and decides to keep both of them. Anyone else would have had her choose one or the other, but they were both so darn likable, I could understand why she wouldn't want to. 

On the other hand, the story is disjointed, especially in the second half. The script was constantly re-written, and they never did really decide on an ending. The dialogue isn't so hot, either. There's some decent songs by Kander and Ebb (including the title number), and Donen is more at home dealing with them than with the big action finale at sea. Apparently, the entire finale was over his head and scared him to death. Donen never did figure out the tone, either. The movie veers from crime caper to violent gangster film (including showing Billy's death) without rhyme or reason. 

Worth checking out once if you're a really big fan of vintage camper comedies, Donen, or the stars involved. YouTube seems to be the only place you can find this at the moment; the Shout TV! DVD is expensive. 

Everything Under One Roof

Began the morning with breakfast and The Scooby Doo Show. The gang is told "Don't Go Near the Fortress of Fear" during a fishing trip to Puerto Rico. Shaggy and Scooby first encounter the ghost of conquistador General Juan Carlos when they visit an old fort, but they try to hide it from the others to avoid having to chase ghosts. Mystery Inc can't stay away from a ghost story for long, though, especially when it seems treasures have gone missing from a local museum and someone  has been randomly setting off a cannon on the fort.

After breakfast, I went downstairs to start sorting through all of those boxes. I was in the basement for about an hour when I realized I'd need somewhere to put everything besides a cardboard box. I don't trust cardboard boxes in a basement. Some smaller things would fit in the dresser drawers and I already had a bin for the pans, but that one bin wouldn't hold everything. I finally grabbed my umbrella and headed out to run errands, ignoring the cloudy day and light showers.

Stopped at WaWa first. I needed money from the ATM machine. Since I was there, I treated myself to a Green Pineapple Smoothie. Oh, yum. Matcha, pineapple, and other tropical fruit. Earthy, fruity, and very green. I'll have to get that again sometime. 

Family Dollar is closer to WaWa than Dollar General. I grabbed the three largest bins they had, plus a smaller narrow rolling bin for the glasses and mugs I wouldn't be using upstairs. Cost me a bundle, but I did get them. Stopped at A&A Pretzels for lunch. They didn't have the regular cheesesteak-stuffed pretzel, but their gluten-free turned out to be even better (and more stuffed) than the originals. Grabbed two regular pretzels as well.

Had lunch upstairs while watching PAW Patrol. "The Pups Save a Snowboarding Competition" when they first help husky miss Everest clear the course during a snowstorm, then rescue the Kitten Catastrophe crew after they go off-course. Cap'n Turnbot and Mayor Goodway are horrified when a cat and her pet chicken Chickaletta get trapped in his computerized diving bell. "The Pups Save the Diving Bell" after they finally get the two to decide if saving the bell or the animals is more important.

Spent the next three hours going through everything in the boxes. Most of it did stay downstairs. In fact, I ended up transferring the box of dishes and bowls and bag of kitchen towels from my closet to the third bin. There were a few things that were moved to my rooms, including my Garfield McDonald's glasses, my old Donald Duck Melody Time jelly jar glass, and my favorite brick-red mug with the pretty gold and brown flower print. I can use that retro strawberry-print colander to hold fruit again, too. (Alas, a few things didn't survive the multiple moves. My Three Caballeros jelly jar glass was the only one that broke, and a big piece broke off the lid of my mini-crock pot.) Cleared out a bunch of old tea bags, spices, and sugar sprinkles, too, and moved the remaining ones into tins or the metal shelves upstairs. 

I was so worn out from running up and down stairs all afternoon, all I was up to after I finished was watching Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story. I go further into the harrowing tale of an R&B diva who survives drug addiction and domestic abuse to make a comeback in the 2000's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On TV - Love Under New Management: The Miki Howard Story

Switched to Match Game Syndicated while eating dinner. They're now on the week with Randi Oakes, one of three cast members of the police procedural show CHIPs to appear on Match Game. David Doyle has far less luck with the Head-to-Head for pretty much the whole week.

Finished the night with The Best of Stevie Nicks: Time Space on CD while I worked on my Love Under New Management review. Though I've heard Nicks in one way or another all my life, I didn't recognize a lot of these songs. There are some pretty big hits here, though, including "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," "Talk to Me," "Edge of Seventeen," and "Leather and Lace." 

A Hint of Spring In the Air

Began the morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. Hattie is initially excited when the Queen of Hearts' daughter Rosa announces a sleepover at Hearts Palace. When the time comes for the actual party, he can't sleep because of how different the Palace is from his home. Alice shows him that there's "No Palace Like Home" when she makes him comfort food that helps him settle down. Rosa wants her heart tarts to be "A Royal Remembrance" when her Abulito comes to visit. Even though her tarts aren't exactly like her Abulita's, she knows how to dress them up so her grandfather knows they were made with love.

Headed to work after that. No problems whatsoever there. We were quiet the entire morning. It was a gorgeous day at the end of the month and the middle of the week, and we're between holidays. I pushed carts, swept the floor, and enjoyed sunny, breezy, unusually warm weather that was already in the lower 60's by 1 PM.

Stopped at the Common Grounds Coffee House in Oakyn for lunch. Some jerk gave the baristas a hard time yesterday because they were busy and had no tables open. You don't make a fuss over that. Thankfully, they did have a table open this time. I bought a chai latte, a slice of mushroom and Swiss quiche, and a huge blueberry muffin and watched the college students and office workers tap busily at their laptops. 

Put on My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic while changing and flattening all those boxes I unloaded yesterday to put in recycling later. "The Crystal Empire" is a magical land in the north that has suddenly reappeared after a thousand years. It was attacked by evil unicorn King Sondra, who made the ponies forget how happy they once were. Twilight Sparkle and Spike searches for a Crystal Heart that could protect the city, while the other ponies keep the residents happy at a Crystal Fair and Twilight's friend Princess Cadence and her brother Shining Armor use Cadence's magic to keep Sondra at bay.

Went through all those cookbooks and the stuff I unloaded yesterday while finishing up Roots. Chicken George (Ben Vereen) happily returns to his family a free man in the 1860's. His son Tom (Georg Stanford Brown) is now a blacksmith for man named Sam Harvey (Richard McKenzie) and has two sons and a lovely wife named Irene (Lynne Moody). Tom and his family are glad to see him and love his stories of England, but he can't stay long. If he remains in South Carolina for 60 days, he'll lose his freedom.

Tom is continually harassed by a pair of obnoxious brothers, Evan (Lloyd Bridges) and Jemmy (Doug McClure) Brent. At one point, he does a favor for Jemmy after he deserts the Confederate Army and finds him attacking Irene. He kills him...but no one will tell Evan who did it. Fortunately, not all whites are so unfriendly. George (Brad Davis) and Martha (Lane Binkley) Johnson turn up at the plantation in search of a meal. They end up befriending the community...and unlike Tom Moore or Missy Anne, they know how to be faithful friends, even though Tom's brother Lewis (Hilly Hicks) doesn't trust them at first. 

The postwar period doesn't go well for Tom, George, or their families. Corrupt Senator Arthur Justin (Burl Ives) buys up all the land and forces the black farmers into heavy debt. After raiders attack their farms, Tom figures out a way to find out who the raiders are. The Sheriff, however, is in Justin's pocket and tips him and Evan off. George is told to whip his friend, and only does it to save his life. Good thing Chicken George returns at this point, announcing that he has land in Tennessee...and an idea that will get Evan and his group off their backs once and for all.

Whew! That was quite a saga. Though the story lightened slightly towards the end, this is still really dark territory. As I mentioned last week, the N word is tossed around with abandon, there's strong violence, and honestly, even some of the black characters don't come out smelling like a bed of roses. The well-done drama and all-star cast still makes it worth checking out for those looking to see American history in a less-rosy light and can handle the violence and abuse.

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner. Foster Brooks and Sarah Purcell joined in this week, just in time for the difficult "__ Balsam" Audience Match. After an audience member gets the answer that the rest of the panel can't figure out, the panel walks out!

Finished the night with Murder She Wrote. "The Grand Old Lady" from the sixth season goes for something different. Jessica Fletcher recounts how beloved mystery author Lady Abigail Austin (June Havoc) ran across a murder on the Queen Mary in 1947. She's there when wine merchant Peter Daniken staggers in, beaten and bloody. Turns out the man was hardly what he claimed to be. Aspiring journalist Christie McGinn (Gary Kroger) smells a story and helps her solve the case and bring together a nurse who fell for a wounded soldier onboard, despite him being married. 

Brave New Worlds

Got a quick start with breakfast and "Mr. Duck Steps Out." Donald wants to go on a date with Daisy, but his nephews want to go, too. He tries to distract them with ice cream, but they'd rather send a popping corn cob in his beak. Good thing this makes him a heck of a jitterbugger and Daisy thinks he's just creating a new dance. 

I got up early because a friend was helping me clear out that storage room in Lawnside and bring my remaining things here, and she could only get a truck from the Home Depot across from Extra Storage at 8 in the morning. We went in. I put in the deposit on the truck when they could get me to a card machine that worked. We went outside, climbed into a nice little truck, and drove across the street. 

It was so early, the office wasn't open yet. I'd talk to them later. For now, we removed everything that remained in the room, including the cassettes, the Star Wars action figures and shelf they hung on, my cookbooks and cake decorating books, the old dresser I used to use for storing small items like tape, and my pots and pans. I also finally found the fall wreath I'd been looking for. Clearing the entire room out and bringing it all home took a little over an hour. 

After we dropped off the truck, she drove me to Collingswood so I could take money out of PNC Bank to pay her. At least we could do that quick, too. There was no trouble on the road, no traffic anywhere, even in Lawnside. I was home by quarter of 10.

Spent the next hour shelving cookbooks while watching Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Jodi is upset when her mother goes away in "Jodi's Mama Travels for Work," like my sisters and I were when Dad had to go on long fishing trips in the 80's and 90's. Jodi is reminded that grown-ups will come back to you, just like we were. In this case, her mother left her a paper chain with links that lead to special surprises. "The Tiger Family Babysits" when Nana goes to the store. Jodi's toddler brothers Teddy and Leo are scared, but Daniel knows how to distract them.

Switched to The Busy World of Richard Scarry next. Huckle and Hilda are supposed to be "King and Queen for a Day" in the big parade. Hilda isn't happy with the rocket ship float Mr. Fix It insists on, and Huckle doesn't want to be caught in the middle. When he gets sick, it's Lowly who has to  show them how to compromise. A young pig is determined to show she can be a good cowgirl and lead "The Piggy Express" through rain, sleet, and heat. The hobos who live in town teach the kids that "Practice Makes Perfect" when they dig out their own records and find music they want to rehearse for the school recital.

Headed out shortly after 11. Took Uber to my first stop of the afternoon. I wanted to make sure everything was good at Extra Storage and they knew we were out. The cheerful girl at the counter in the main building said they figured it out when they saw I left the door to the storage room open as requested online and ended my account shortly after. I even got to keep the lock I used for the room. 

Thought it would be easier to let Uber pick me up at the Shop-Rite across the street, especially since I was going that way anyhow. Grabbed two bottles of Pepsi Wild Cherry and Cream Zero, then called the driver. The driver going to Somerdale came in 2 minutes; the one going to Lawnside arrived in 4. Once again, no trouble on the road. We were at Amy's Omlette House in 5 minutes.

They were a little busier, but it didn't take me long to get a seat. I enjoyed the "lite bites" pancakes so much the last time I had them, I tried another type of "lite bites" pancakes. Caramel Apple Pancakes were topped with sliced apples and drizzled with caramel. Think I tasted walnuts in the pancakes. Not bad. The apples were just sweet and tart enough, and their tartness helped make the caramel less overwhelmingly sweet. 

Hurried down the White Horse Pike back towards Magnolia after I ate. I mainly came that way to finally see Captain America: Brave New World. I wanted to last week when it came out, but I just didn't have the time. I slid into a full theater just as the commercials ended. I won't go into spoilers, but I did enjoy it. I always liked the Captain America films, and this one was no exception. Harrison Ford did especially well as the tough-guy president who is trying to make a peace treaty with Japan and get his hands on a new type of alien metal that has fallen to Earth, and he plays well off Anthony Mackie as the new Captain America. The politics may be murky and the plot is overly complicated and smacks of 70's-80's arms race paranoia, but this isn't bad, and is certainly better than the action film I saw last February, Argylle. 

I didn't figure it out until a teacher told me after the movie ended, but the reason the theater was full on a Tuesday afternoon was a middle school were there on a school trip. That was annoying. They talked noisily, left a mess all over, and the boys made inappropriate noises and jokes during quiet times. The kids were so obnoxious, three of the people sitting next to me got up and left with almost a half-hour before the movie ended. (And why the heck were they seeing a Marvel movie on a school day? Black History Month?)

Made a brief stop at Dollar Tree to buy a new comb (and make change for the bus), then went up the hill to Walmart. Didn't find a whole lot there. The TV sets that interested me had security locks on them, and there were almost no records left. I bought probiotic soda, Junkless granola bars, and disinfectant wipes. Went down to the White Horse Pike to pick up the bus after I finished. They were a little over 10 minutes late, not bad for the height of rush hour. I got home within 15 minutes. 

Soon as I got home, I went through more of the boxes, upstairs and down, trying to figure out what worked upstairs and what didn't. Cleared out a lot of stuff, from cassettes I'd since bought on CD or record to now-expired tea and spices. Moved the cassette shelves downstairs when the remaining cassettes and the player worked fine on one of the record crates. Moved pots and pans to a bin and brought the crate they were in upstairs to hold records. 

Watched Double Platinum while I worked. I go further into this TV movie from 1999 featuring Diana Ross and Brandy as an estranged mother and daughter at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Musicals On TV - Double Platinum 

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner. I don't think putting Bob Barker next to Charlene Tilton was a smart move. He and Gene spent most of the week drooling over her. Meanwhile, Richard Deacon is more than happy to throw a little shade at Bob, while everyone else tosses it Gene and Brett's way.

Finished the night testing the cassette player with one of my last finds before I moved. I fished a 12-tape collection of oldies from 1993 out of the trash pile at Jodi's house. I don't know why she was throwing it away. Only the first tape is missing, and the rest work just fine. I went with Tape 7, which features lively dance numbers like "At the Hop" by Danny and the Juniors and sweeter ballads like "Take Good Care of My Baby" by Bobby Vee and "Since I Don't Have You" by the Skyliners. (Oh, and the cassette player works just fine.) 

Some Sunny Day

Began the morning with breakfast and two episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. "Pluto's Playmate" is Salty the Seal, whom he gets along with much better than in the short "Mickey and the Seal." Mickey and the gang use Mousketools to teach Salty tricks for his circus act. "Mickey's Big Job" is taking care of Willie the Giant's farm while he's visiting his mother. He and the gang figure out how to clean house, water a plant, and feed chickens when everything is six times your size.

Headed out after the second cartoon to run errands. I was hoping CVS would have the Listerine Gum Therapy mouthwash I use in the smaller size. They did...but I didn't see a tag and didn't realize how expensive it was until I bought it. And all the pharmacies wonder why people won't shop there anymore? They're really too expensive. Got a Propel water and brushes for my Oral B electric toothbrush. I really can't find the brush heads anywhere else, but I won't get the mouthwash there again.

I mostly went for a walk to enjoy a gorgeous, sunny day. It was even nicer than yesterday, breezy and much warmer, into the mid-50's. I was hot in the snowflake-print cardigan and heavy coat I wore. No wonder I saw several people chatting on their cell phones or with neighbors on their porches. There's a few houses that still have Valentine's or even Christmas decorations out, but most are fine with a winter vine wreath and their empty gardens. 

Took out the recycling and brought the laundry downstairs when I got home, then went upstairs to have lunch, make the bed, and rearrange the book shelves in the front and back rooms. Watched more Roots while I worked. Kunta's daughter Kizzy (Leslie Uggams) grows up alongside John Reynolds' daughter Missy Anne (Sandy Duncan). They think they're best friends, but despite teaching Kizzy to read and write, Missy doesn't see her as anything but a slave. Kizzy falls for another slave, Noah (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs), who is determined to escape, and helps him forge a traveling pass. 

Noah is caught, and Kizzy is sold to the brutal Tom Moore (Chuck Connors). Moore forces her into bed the moment she gets there. She has a son by him, George (Ben Vereen). George grows up to train roosters to fight one another. He thinks he's friends with Moore, but Moore turns out to be no more trustworthy than Missy Anne when first his wife, and then him turn up frothing at the mouth and threatening their slaves over a slave uprising that had nothing to do with them. He loses George to British trainer Sir Eric Russell (Ian McShane) and sells his family when he needs money.

Worked on updating the inventories after I brought the laundry upstairs, adding the records I've bought over the past few days. Watched The Price Is Right, then Match Game Syndicated during dinner. Comedian Alfie Wise has a great time during the first week. Jack Jones, Patty Duke, Joe Santos, and Donna Pescow are around next week. Patty convinces a physical therapist contestant to help fix her knee...and then Jack suddenly decides that he needs physical therapy, too.

Finished the night on YouTube with game shows featuring British host and entertainer Bruce Forsyth, whose birthday would have been Saturday. Forsyth began his game show career hosting a brief British version of Beat the Clock on the show Sunday Night at the London Palladium. Other than the stunts were a bit messy and one involved math rather than muck, this was pretty similar to the US format at the time. 

Forsyth returned to the stage for the rest of the 60's. His next big hit was The Generation Game in 1973. Two pairs, usually a mother/son and father/daughter (although we have a mother/grandfather here), do stunts that involve guessing what something is - in this case, breed of dogs - and who can make crafts better. The remaining two couples join Bruce at the end to appear in a skit. Whomever is judged better are the winners. The winners get whatever prizes they can remember passing on a conveyor belt.

No wonder this was a long-running hit twice. It would be successfully revived in 1990, with Forsyth hosting the first four years of that as well. I believe it's still considered to be one of his signature shows in England. Even when the opening stunts are moving at a glacier pace, Forsyth is still having a grand time, making jokes and darting around. 

Forsyth's next hit was Play Your Cards Right, the British version of Card Sharks. When it began in 1980, it had two contestants answering high-low questions that allowed them to play cards on a board, like the US version. Where this differs is the goofier high-low questions that are played for comedy and in the bonus round. Forsyth asks a question. If they won, they'd get an extra 50 points to bet with. If they lost, they'd lose 50 points. After that, the Money Cards run the same until the end. If the player makes over 4,000 pounds, they could answer a simple question to win a car.

This is just as much fun (if a bit sillier) than the American version, and just as enjoyable to watch. Forsyth had such a grand time hosting, he did the entire 1980-1987 run, including when they switched to couples playing. 

Forsyth didn't have as much luck on this side of the pond. His only crack at a game show in the US was Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak. Two teams, one of men, one of women, each have to describe a word to their teammate without using words the previous teammate used. If it sounds fun, but really hard...it was. It could be hilarious, but it was also difficult for teams to get more than two or three words without repeating them. That and heavy competition from The Price Is Right and Wheel of Fortune made it a flop here that barely lasted 13 weeks (though it did give announcer Marc Summers some of his first game show exposure). 

Forsyth did better back in England with You Bet. This is another variation on Beat the Clock, only with the a panel of celebrities sponsoring and betting on the outcome of the stunts. All money went to charity. Forsyth only hosted the first two years of this long-running favorite, but he has just as much fun here watching people run around and make a mess as he did at the London Palladium.

One of Forsyth's last major assignments was ITV's third attempt at The Price Is Right. While not as huge of a hit as the daytime version was here, Bruce's Price Is Right did manage a decent six-year-run. It's played more-or-less the same as the 90's half-hour Price Is Right, with the addition of a (rather cheap-looking) wheel and two people doing the Showcases. Forsyth was as beloved over in England as Bob Barker had been here by this point (and unlike Barker, doesn't seem to have had problems with his models), and he has a grand time cracking jokes about people coming on down. 

Celebrate the life and work of one of England's most beloved hosts with these hilarious episodes!

Beat the Clock (Sunday Night at the London Palladium) (1961)

The Generation Game (1975)

Play Your Cards Right Premiere (1980)

Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak (1986)

You Bet Premiere (1988)

Bruce's The Price Is Right (1996)

With a Little Help From My Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and one of my earliest CDs. Mom bought Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band for my 15th birthday in 1994, along with the original cast album for the Cole Porter show Can-Can. I've had both CDs ever since. This was my first real exposure to the Beatles outside of songs on the oldies stations, and it was a revelation. Though the title song, "With a Little Help From My Friends," and "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" occasionally turned up on the radio, this was my first time hearing other classics like "She's Leaving Home" and "For the Benefit of Mr. Kite!"

Hurried off to work even before the CD ended. No problems here. I spent the entire afternoon pushing carts, and wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. The weather was gorgeous. It was sunny, bright, breezy but not windy like it has been, and much warmer, into the mid-40's. A college age boy and a high school boy did the sweeping and the trash and sometimes helped me with the carts. We were mildly steady, but nowhere near as busy as last weekend. I was in and out with little trouble.

Rushed straight home after that and into the shower. Spent the rest of the evening having dinner and watching tonight's Match Game marathon. Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly weren't the only folks who wore wigs, hair pieces, or hats on the show. Brett and Fannie brought their Easter bonnets to the Easter episode the week Tom Bosley was on in 1975. Lee Merriweather sported a long, wavy red wig later that year. McLean Stevenson wore a curly blonde wig in imitation of Leslie Easterbrook next to him in one syndicated episode. Squeaky-voiced sitcom actress Sydney Goldsmith sported nifty hats and headbands the week she was on the syndicated show. Joyce Bulifant wore wigs during an earlier syndicated week so Gene wouldn't confuse her with Elaine Joyce.

Phyllis Diller was probably best-known for her unique wigs. She sported a beaded wig in one later syndicated episode and a huge poofy cotton-candy wig on an episode of Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, complete with pink feathered blouse. She turned up in her most memorable wig on Match Game '90. She went punk rocker in a magenta mohawk that matched the one worn by Ronn Lucas' punk puppet Chuck Roast. I think Chuck had a bit of a crush on her (in so much as he seemed to like anyone). 

Phyllis wasn't the only one on Match Game '90 who wore a wig. Rip Taylor hit Fred Travelena with his toupee during Christmas week for doing a bad impression of him. Bill Kirkenbauer later wore two wigs, a Beatles-like hair cut in one episode and long red locks that made him look like a Sanderson Sister in another. 

Possibly the most memorable wig turned up on a later episode of Match Game PM. A personable, balding young man made such a good impression and was so funny, Charles gave him his toupee. It actually did make him look twenty years younger. Brett even grabbed him for a kiss after that!

Wig out with some of the most memorable hair fashions on the show in these hilarious and heartfelt episodes!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Let's Wig It Out Marathon

In the Winter Sunshine

I got such a late start, I barely had the time to grab breakfast and rush out! I rode the bike this time. No reason not to. It was a gorgeous day. It remains sunny, but the fierce winds had died down to soft breezes, and it was much warmer, in the upper 30's. I got in just barely late.

That was the worst thing that happened all day. I spent the rest of the morning sweeping and pushing carts with no trouble whatsoever. In fact, the nice weather made being outside a pleasure. We were busy, though not overwhelmingly so. One of the high school baggers came in at 1 and helped me for the last hour and a half. 

Hurried home after that. Took the recycling outside, then changed and got organized while watching The Scooby Show. The Ghostly Gondolier is "A Menace In Venice" who steals three priceless medallions that could lead to a fabulous treasure. Mystery Inc leaps into action when he also steals Daphne and their friend who owns one of the medallions.

Switched to Tubi for Leap! I go further into the American dubbing of this Canadian-French animated ballet movie at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Leap! (Ballerina)

Listened to the rest of the records I picked up on Wednesday while working on the review. Olympus 7-000 was a 1967 TV musical that had the Greek god Hermes (Donald O'Connor) lend his brand of magic to a falling football team. Though the show Stage '67 would produce some decent musicals, including Evening Primrose, this isn't one of them. Eddie Foy Jr has some fun with "The Three of Us," and Phyllis Newman tries to hold the horny O'Connor off with "Better Things to Do." Otherwise, this is disappointingly generic. Maybe it's just as well that the actual broadcast doesn't seem to be available anywhere but museums at the moment.

MGM does a charming short version of Cinderella, complete with stepsisters and a sweet fairy godmother. Their version of Hansel and Gretel is considerably darker, including mentions of what happens to the witch and stepmother in the end. I'm also a bit surprised that Disney stuck to the original version of "The Little Match Girl" and "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" for their Stories of Hans Christian Andersen record, including their unhappy endings. 

Finished the night with dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. Tonight was a repeat of the new episodes that debuted this week, along with the weeks leading up to them and their corresponding nighttime episodes. I'm so glad Jimmie Walker finally let his week be seen! This week was one of the funniest of 1980. The weeks before it were pretty fun, too, and the PM episodes were even more hilarious. The one with Dick Martin ended with him chasing after a scarlet-clad Elaine Joyce. The second week featured a gorgeous contestant who turned all the men's heads. Charles even claimed to have started a modeling agency for her.

If you missed the re-discovered Match Game episodes earlier in the week, here they are in their entirety!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Match Game Syndicated Season 2 1980 marathon (Including Newly Rediscovered Episodes) 

Sunshine and Shadows

Began the morning with breakfast and two classic Disney shorts on winter sports. Donald thinks he's the "Hockey Champ" when he shows off for his nephews, but the boys have a thing or two to teach him about the game. "Double Dribble" gets back into Goofy sports territory, this time parodying college football. The shortest member of P.U seems to be the most outmatched, but he proves that size doesn't matter when he manages to find a way to get the ball through the net anyhow.

Since it's still cold and windy and I wanted to get groceries later, I called Uber. No trouble here. The first driver came in 7 minutes, the second in 4. Got where I was going quickly and with no trouble.

Work was slightly busier than yesterday, but still nothing overwhelming...or like last weekend. At least the weather is finally improving. Though the wind remains frigid and blustery, it was a little warmer when you could get in the sun. I spent the morning pushing carts and sweeping with no trouble.

As I expected, my schedule is back to four and five hours on weekends and Wednesday morning. I only got the hours I did the last two weeks because the floral department manager needed extra help, and then the head bagger went on vacation. Honestly, I don't mind. I could use the time to catch up on chores I put off over the last few weeks when I was busy or not feeling well, and I did want to see Captain America: Brave New World. 

Went straight into grocery shopping after I got home. Restocked oranges, yogurt, and granola bars. Slice was on sale; they now have the lemon-lime along with cola and grapefruit. Got two turkey sliders on pretzel buns for lunch and more of that tasty Orange Cream Coke Zero. A brand of tropical and corn-flavored cracker crisps were on clearance. The guava had the least salt, so I thought I'd try that.

Had lunch and put everything away while watching The Busy World of Richard Scarry. "Superstitious Bananas" is worried he's going to have nothing but bad luck when a fortune cookie claims things will go badly for him on Friday the 13th. Couscous the detective is shocked when "Pepe le Goodstaire" is let out of jail for good behavior. He knows better than to believe Pepe has turned over a new leaf. Mr. Frumble somehow manages to mistake a new parking garage for the "Drive-Through Movie," much to the detriment of his pickle car.

Changed, then headed out to Boost Mobile three blocks down on the White Horse Pike. I wanted to finally upgrade my cell phone and change the service. I've had my cell phone since January 2021. The battery sometimes dies quickly, sometimes slowly. The screen is cracked and chipped. It's beyond time for a change. I bought a Samsung Galaxy A16 that's basically the updated version of my old A11. It took a bit longer to switch providers, but after 40 minutes of changing passwords and pins, I had a new cell phone and was now with Boost Mobile.

It was such a nice day, I went for a walk to WaWa. I hadn't had a smoothie in ages. Got a pina colada smoothie to celebrate the end of two busy weeks and my new cell phone. It was a little on the watery side, with more pineapple than coconut flavor. 

Threw on Scooby's All-Star Laugh-a-Lympics when I got home. "North Pole" starts off with some unique dog-sled racing. Daisy Mayhem being pulled by her pet pig and Captain Caveman being toted by the Teen Angels makes sense, but Yakky Doodle pulling Grape Ape seems more like a recipe for disaster, until the big ape lends a hand. The Rottens' attempt at cheating in the igloo-building contest only solidifies Quick-Draw and the Doggies' entry and puts the Blue Falcon out to sea. Their cheating wrecks havoc on Wally Gator, Hokey Wolf, and Huckleberry Hound's paddle boat in "Tahiti," until they figure out a way to spring back. As anyone who's seen What's New, Scooby Doo knows, even the Dread Baron's sand-digging machine can't beat champion sand castle builders Shaggy and Scooby. 

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner. Ginger, the contestant from yesterday, does manage to get to the Audience Match...but her ridiculous answer for "Cuckoo __" in the Head-to-Head leaves everyone on-stage and in the audience falling over laughing. Richard Paul and Nipsey Russell join in the next week, as the panel wear hard-hats in honor of a female contestant who works for a construction company. Charles even gives the lady her own hard hat.

Watched more of Roots next. By 1776, Kinta Kunte (John Amos) has grown to manhood. He's still determined to return home to Africa and manages to escape again. Not everyone has his desperate desire to go home. He flees to his former sweetheart Fanta (Ren Woods), only to discover she's turned away from her African heritage and has no desire to do anything but survive. After he's caught and loses his right foot in punishment, he's nursed back to health by the Reynolds' cook Bell (Madge Sinclair). 

Moved to YouTube for more of that newly-released syndicated week. Someone really needed to do a better job gluing the names on the Star Wheel. Charles' name fell off not once, but twice. He taped it the first time and just jammed it on the second. 

Here's both episodes to check out, so you can see the rest of this now-found week!

Match Game Syndicated #189 - Charles Name Falls Off the Wheel

Match Game Syndicated #190 - Name Falls Off the Wheel Again

Finished the night with another, much darker Czech fairy tale film. Their version of Beauty and the Beast from 1978 mostly follows the French story. Julie (Zdena Studenkova) takes the place of her merchant father (Vaclav Voska) in the damp, murky castle of a bird-like Beast (Vlastimil Harapes) after he takes a rose from the Beast's garden. Here, the Beast feeds on blood and fears he'll harm Julie, or that she'll flee if she sees him. He's goaded by a little imp-like creature (whose presence is never explained) into almost killing her at several points, but ends up falling for her instead. She dreams of a handsome man who literally sweeps her off her feet...one who seems familiar, almost like her strange bird friend. 

Played for horror rather than for comedy or romance, this does get pretty scary at times, especially when that little creature is popping up in the chandeliers. The Beast's bad makeup on his bird head does mitigate the effect somewhat. His castle is much spookier, a fetid place filled with musty corners and bubbling mud pits. The copy I found at YouTube did have English close-captioning, making it easier to follow this spooky and dreamy romance. 

You Can Get It If You Really Want

Got such a quick start this morning, I didn't have the time to do anything but quickly eat breakfast and call Uber. At least I had no trouble getting a driver. They arrived in 10 minutes and got me to work in less than 5. No traffic anywhere, not even where they're working on the electric power building on Nicholson.

Work was even less of a problem. We were even quieter this morning than we were yesterday. As I mentioned, there simply isn't much going on right now. We're not even really supposed to get snow this time. By the time it started getting busier, I was on my way out.

I changed, then called Uber. They arrived within 7 minutes this time...but I wasn't going home. I really didn't want to put off running errands at the Westmont Plaza again now that I'm feeling better. He dropped me off at Target in five minutes, despite some after-lunch traffic on Cuthbert. The young woman who took me home came in four minutes and got me home in less than five. 

Target was even less busy than the Acme had been. For once, I had no trouble getting into line. Didn't find the mouthwash I wanted, but I did buy granola bars and larger bags of cough drops. Had a sweet-earthy matcha latte and a messy turkey-pesto-pepper sandwich at Starbucks for lunch. (And I got there just in time. I was eating my sandwich when the line started picking up.)

Sprouts was a little busier. Restocked granola bars, coconut milk, and Olipop and Nixie soda (the former with an online coupon). Found white chocolate-macadamia nut cookies on the bakery clearance racks. Bananas are cheaper at Sprouts than they are at the Acme by 20 cents. Got brown sugar, mango slices, and more of that tasty European hot oatmeal with dates out of the bulk bins.

Took the recycling out when I got home, then finally called T-Mobile to find out what was going on with my account. To make a long story short, we ended up redoing my account. I can now get into it online...and switch it over to Boost Mobile tomorrow. The lady who helped me was really nice, but that doesn't mean any of this should have happened in the first place or I don't still need a new phone. 

Put everything away while watching The Harder They Come. I go further into this Jamaican cult favorite from the 70's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

The Harder They Come

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner. Abigail "Dear Abby" Van Buren and comedian Jack Carter joined in for the shenanigans in the first episodes. Jack and Gene sang "It's a Hot Time In the Old Town" for Bill Daily and a sweet older lady contestant when she won with him on the Audience Match. They even ended up dancing together. The next week featured Robert Walden, Elaine Joyce, Joyce Bulifant in increasingly strange wigs, and a nice contestant named Ginger who gave a rather notoriously weird answer to what a jock centipede would buy...and would give an even weirder answer in the next episode...

Finished the night with the original cast album for Hallelujah, Baby! Leslie Uggams became a stage star in this look at 60 years of black history, from cakewalks in "The Slice" to the jubilant title song and "Now Is the Time" in the finale. Though Uggams and Robert Hooks as her perpetually protesting boyfriend sound great and some of the songs aren't bad, just reading the back of the album lets me see the problems here. The story is too disjointed and tries to cram too much in. Hooks' character in particular and the over-reliance on white character actors made this seem dated even when it came out. It won a Best Musical Tony in 1967 more due to a lack of competition than its own merits. Worth hearing at least once for some good songs if you love Uggams or want to hear some Jules Styne and Comden and Green that haven't been done to death. 

Antiquing Harts

Began the morning with a quick breakfast and two more Minnie's Bow-Toons. The girls' planned pet fashion show turns into "Minnie's Fashion Emergency" when a goat eats the outfits. Minnie figures out a way to use the balloon decorations to make truly unique pet fashions. Minnie and the girls have to figure out how to make "A Good Sign" when the bow sign over their door keeps falling down.

Called Uber again, as I had errands to run after work and it remains frigid here. I guess a lot of other people were trying to avoid the cold weather too. It took 8 minutes for them to arrive. No traffic once they did, though.

No trouble at work today, other than I had to rush and put away some cold returns. It wasn't busy. The weather is cold, gray, and blustery, and we're between holidays. There simply isn't much going on right now. 

Instead of going straight home, I changed into a regular shirt and grabbed something I wanted to try. Coke just put out an Orange Cream flavor and Dr. Pepper has Blackberry. Since they did have the Orange Cream in Zero, I took that. Fever Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit Soda is supposed to be a mixer for cocktails. The Acme had boxes of tiny cans on clearance for $2.07, so I thought I'd try them. 

(And they both turned out to be excellent. The Orange Cream really does taste like a creamsicle. The sparkling pink grapefruit resembles an even-better, tarter Fresca.)

Had lunch around the corner at Applebee's. They were relatively busy for 1:30, with several couples and friend pairs enjoying a meal on their late lunch break. I had the same crispy chicken ranch sandwich and fries I got at the Applebee's in Somerdale back in December. They were just as good this time, with juicy chicken and well-seasoned fries.

I thought it would be quicker and easier to take Uber up to the T-Mobile in Lawnside. The gentleman picked me up in 9 minutes. There thankfully was no traffic on the White Horse Pike whatsoever. We arrived at the T-Mobile in less than 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, I had no more luck here. On one hand, they did tell me that my cell phone's pre-paid service was ending because my debit card expires next month. Unfortunately, not only were they unable to fix my account that won't let me in no matter how hard I try, they wouldn't let me upgrade my phone, either. Apparently, you can't upgrade phones on a prepaid account. And they were all kind of grumpy about it, but that might have been because they were oddly busy for the middle of the week.

Frankly, I'd had enough of them. I felt like a complete moron. I left in tears. No more T-Mobile for me. I'd been considering switching carriers for some time. The only reason I still used T-Mobile was because Jessa used it. Later research and talking to a friend revealed that Boost Mobile does let you upgrade your phone with a prepaid account. There's a Boost Mobile literally around the corner from me on the White Horse Pike. I think it's time I gave another carrier a try.

The House of Fun is two blocks from T-Mobile, so I walked there next to make myself feel better. Dug another Wuzzle out of the big stuffed animal bin. Neon pink and yellow Rhinokey is a money with wings and a yellow and pink-striped horn on his nose. He was the show's prankster, always playing goofy jokes on the others. His arms seem kind of flat, but he was otherwise in perfect shape. He cost me $35, the same as the other two Wuzzles I bought from the House of Fun, Hoppo and Eleroo.

Walked another two blocks down to the Barrington Antique Center. They're a huge barn of a building filled with tiny rooms that are stuffed to the rafters with everything from Depression glass bottles to 60's hats to recent DVDs and Barbies. I didn't see a whole lot that I wanted. Just picked up a bag of chocolate cookies from the front and two vintage kids' records:

Great Children's Stories: Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel (Looks like MGM's kids LP series. If I like this, I might look for others in the series, including The Wizard of Oz and Babes In Toyland.)

Walt Disney Presents the Stories of Hans Christian Andersen (Interestingly, of the four Andersen stories included here, the only one Disney would later adapt was "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" as a short in Fantasia 2000.)

Strolled 15 minutes down Barrington and West Atlantic Avenue to Haddon Heights. I hadn't been to Doc's Finds, a record store and thrift shop, for a while. At the very least, Doc did finally get all of the soundtrack and comedy albums that had been thrown under the racks in bins. Though I didn't dig up as much as I did the last time I shopped here, I did come up with a cast album for a rare flop and a soundtrack for a lost TV musical:

The original cast for the 1967 flop Hallelujah Baby! (Despite only running 10 months, this chronicle of African-American life in the 20th century won a Tony for best musical and made a star out of Leslie Uggams.)

The soundtrack for Olympus 7000 (This 1967 TV musical features Donald O'Connor as the god Mercury who attempts to help a hapless football team and let its coach Larry Blyden earn enough money to marry his sweetheart. Despite also featuring Phyllis Newman as Blyden's fiancee and Joe Namath as his quarterback, the only place anyone seems to be able to find this nowadays is at the Paley Center in New York.)

By the time I got out of Doc's, it was past 4:30. I already took Uber twice today, so I hiked across the White Horse Pike to pick up the bus. It was almost 10 minutes late, not a surprise during rush hour. Thankfully, it took five minutes to arrive back in Oaklyn, and there was another woman getting off with me.

Watched Match Game Syndicated when I got home. They ran the episodes where Kirstie Alley was a contestant tonight. Gene spent the entire time drooling over her, but to tell the truth, she seemed rather bored by the whole thing. At least she did win money with Jamie Lee Curtis on the Head-to-Head. The episode before and the beginning of Kirstie's first episode featured a totally hapless contestant who just could not get any answers. She took so long to answer a question, Gene lay down at one point and took a nap!

Switched to the rediscovered Match Game Syndicated episodes on YouTube after I got out of the shower. The first one has Charles going up to the Audience Match board to prove his answer for "__ and Needles" will be there. Bart shows off his frequent flyer pins in the second, and we get a cheery fan of Brett with the highest hair I ever saw.

Match Game Syndicated #187 - Charles Pine Needles Answer

Match Game Syndicated #188 - Bart's Flight Pins

Ended the night with Hart to Hart. The Harts are horrified when a Middle Eastern king who is a friend of theirs is almost killed by an assassin, and then has the golden lion that represents his throne stolen out from under him in "In the Hart of the Night." Jennifer overhears a plot by his second-in-command and his wife to overthrow the sheik, as they find his leadership to be too old-fashioned. Jennifer and Johnathan first attempt to switch the fake lion with the real one. After it turns out the two schemers anticipated this, Jonathan recruits Max to help with a scheme of his own. 

Jazz on a Winter's Afternoon

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the Disney short "On Ice." Mickey shows off for Minnie while skating on a frozen pond, while Goofy attempts ice fishing. Donald would rather pick on Pluto and get him to skate, until his own showing off almost ends with him going over the falls!

Though thankfully my stomach is feeling a lot better, it's still windy and cold out there. I called Uber. No trouble there today. The one in the morning came in 6 minutes. The one going home arrived in 7. No traffic either way or problems on the road.

Work was a lot busier today than it had been yesterday, and it was harder to keep up with the carts. Tuesday is our senior discount day. There's a senior housing apartment complex less than a block from the Acme, and it tends to bring them by the droves. I had to put away a lot of cold items and clean up the messy back lounge area, too, and I forgot to sweep the floor in the lounge area. I was very happy to get out of there.

Went straight upstairs and changed after I got in. Made a fried egg sandwich for lunch while watching The Scooby Doo Show. "The Creepy Creature of Vulture's Claw" is the Mantis, a huge man-sized preying mantis who is stalking the area around a botanical garden. The professor who is about to buy the place, the caretaker, and another man who wants to buy it all warn the kids away. Fred and the girls are determined to stay, especially after they discover oily footprints and suspect there may be oil on the property.

Switched to Tubi for All Night Long after the cartoon ended. I go further into this 1962 jazz take on Othello from England at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

All Night Long (1962)

Watched Match Game Syndicated while eating dinner and doing job searching (didn't find anything). David Doyle, Debralee Scott, Dick Martin, and Patty Duke figured into the second week of the show. The first episode featured a funny older lady with a charming English accent who claimed she wrote poetry and "dirt," as she put it. The second had David trying to do imitations for Charles and Brett, who just couldn't figure out what he was doing.

Listened to the soundtrack from Rocky IV while I worked on the All Night Long review. I've never been a fan of the Rocky films, but I'd be the first to admit that there's some terrific (and very 80's) music on this CD. "Eye of the Tiger" and "Burning Heart" by Survivor were the major hits at the time, but my favorite number is one of James Brown's best later songs, "Living In America." There's also the duet "Double Or Nothing" by Kenny Loggins and Gladys Knight and two good instrumental numbers, "War" and "Training Montage."

Finished the night with more Match Game Syndicated, this time genuine rediscovered history. Jimmie Walker finally fixed the red tape that kept his syndicated weeks from being seen. The first of them is running on GSN this week, starting with an episode from the previous week with George Kennedy and Dick Martin. Martin starts stripping when Gene points out that he doesn't usually wear a tie on the show...which inspires Betty White to do the same, not once, but twice. 

Jimmie joins in for the next episode, along with Debralee Scott and Bart Braverman. Jimmie is honestly pretty subdued for him. Charles has more trouble when his name falls off the Star Wheel and he attempts to walk out, then makes snide remarks about how cheap the whole darn thing is. 

Here's the episodes, so you can see how all this came out for yourself!

Match Game Syndicated #185 - Dick Martin Strips? 

Match Game Syndicated #186 - Charles' Name Falls Off Star Wheel

Roots and Games

Began the morning with breakfast and two Minnie's Bow-Toons shorts on Disney Plus. When the propeller of a little boy's remote control airplane breaks off, Minnie learns that the solution to fixing it is "In Plane Sight." "Bow Bot" is a little bow-tying robot Daisy buys to give them a day off...but then it overloads and makes a mess in the store.

Since it continues to be gale-force windy and cold, I called Uber. The one going to work arrived in 9 minutes and got me to work just in time. The one going home arrived in far less than the 7 minutes she claimed. No problems getting where I was going either way.

No trouble at work either, other than having to stop and put away a few cold items when I was trying to do other things. We were dead for most of the morning, and even when it did pick up a little around 11, it was nowhere near overwhelming. Either everyone was out enjoying the last holiday Monday off until May, or they did all their shopping over the weekend. 

Switched to PAW Patrol while I got changed and did a few chores. "The Pups and the Big Freeze" end up calling Everett the Husky when Mayor Goodway is caught in a snow bank, a branch has to be removed from the train tracks, and the streets need to be cleared and salted. "Pups Save a Basketball Game" when Mayor Goodway begs them to create a basketball team to beat Mayor Humdinger's team. Marshall's afraid to play when he keeps tripping over his paws, but he doesn't have a choice after Humdinger's cheating ends with two pups out of the game.

Decided to join my customers and go out and enjoy the day, wind be damned. It was cold, but also sunny and bright...and I'm tired of sitting around inside. Was hoping to find mouthwash or the new Orange Cream Coke Zero and Blackberry Dr. Pepper flavors at Dollar General. I did see the Blackberry, but not in Zero. I left with nothing. Got a chicken gyro from Crown Chicken and Gyro instead.

Ate my lunch and moved the jazz and soundtrack CDs to their new books while watching the first two episodes of Roots. The entire mini-series is currently on Tubi. I remember hearing about this as a kid, but I never saw it until now. Thought it would be interesting for Black History Month. Kunta Kinte (LeVar Burton) is a teen African warrior brought over to the US on a slave ship in 1765. He's part of an uprising aboard-ship, but that's squelched. When he does arrive in the US, he's purchased by John Reynolds (Lorne Greene) and is placed under the eye of Fiddler (Louis Gossett Jr.) and given the name Toby. Kunta is determined to escape and return to Africa, even if it means compromising Fiddler's position as head of the slaves. Even when Reynolds beats him, Fiddler assures him that he should remember his name and keep trying to get home. 

I can understand why this was such a monumental hit in 1977. An all-star cast brings a harrowing story of survival in some of the worst parts of American history to life. This is rough stuff. The N word is tossed around with abandon, and given the place and time, I think it goes without saying that women and minorities do not fare well. You'd never guess this was LeVar Burton's first role from how wonderful he is. Other stand-outs include Ed Asner as the conflicted captain in charge of the slave ship, Gossett Jr. as the mentor for Kunta who can turn from tough to servile on a dime, and Lloyd Bridges as Asner's thoroughly reprehensible first mate. 

Not for kids, and despite the gorgeous costumes and outdoor shooting, the language and abuse may make this a hard watch for those who can't handle physical abuse well. If you can deal with the violence, this is worth checking out for that incredible cast alone.

Took a shower, then switched to Buzzr for Match Game. Looks like they've returned to Match Game Syndicated. This time, it's the first week with Bart Braverman, Eva Gabor, and Bill Daily, which they have shown on the channel many times before.

Moved to YouTube to finish the night with more game shows that premiered on cable. Cable game shows have their roots in the unaired pilots for How Do You Like Your Eggs? Bill Cullen hosts this interactive game that has people in the Columbus area using their cable set to vote for the answers on certain subjects. Two married couples have to figure out how they voted. It's a cute idea, sort of a cross between Family Feud and the later interactive Trivial Pursuit. Too bad that, according to the Bill Cullen biography, the owner of the cable company decided he preferred a more old-fashioned kiddie host show.

By the time the Canadian revival of Jackpot! aired on USA Network in 1985, cable had gone from a few scattered Midwestern lines to big business available in half of all households. I used to watch game shows on USA all afternoon, Jackpot! included. One person would be up on a pedestal, guessing riddles with dollar values assigned read by a group of people across from them. If they missed someone's riddle, that person would be up to bat. They could keep building the jackpot, or go for it if it was big enough. Biggest winner at the end of the week got a trip.

I have vague memories of this being a fun show, and that is borne out here. The set is colorful (if a little on the cheap side), but the riddles are between cute and hilarious, and it's cool to see that jackpot growing. Considering it ran into trouble with competition and executives who wanted a more straightforward question and answer show during its original 70's run, I'm glad it got a second chance here.

I didn't just watch game shows on USA as a kid. Having seen the success of Nickelodeon's game shows, The Disney Channel took a crack at their second game show with Teen Win, Lose, or Draw. It's played the same as the adult versions of the time, only with teen celebrities helping out and a more informal setting in front of someone's garage. We enjoyed seeing young people our own age run through a game we actually owned. We had that Win, Lose, or Draw Junior game the announcer held out for years. Mayam Balik (more than a year before her breakout show Blossom) and Danny Ponce of The Hogan Family are the celebrities here. 

The most popular game show on cable in the early 90's was also a revival. Supermarket Sweep let people run "wild in the aisles" and brought a lot of viewers to Lifetime who otherwise wouldn't have had the slightest interest in their drama-of-the-week movies. The episode I have here is from early in the Lifetime run, when David Ruprecht still wore weird sweaters and the only bonuses were the big ones people grabbed from random spots and a list Dave gave out.

Family games continued to be popular well into the new millennium. Family Game Night was an early hit for the Hub (what's now Discovery Kids). Two families play wild mini-games based on Hasbro board games like Yatzhee! and Bop It. No wonder this wound up being a four-year hit, and by far the most popular of the Hub's game shows. It's hilarious to watch the families play these huge games. Check out how intense the two moms who are last women standing in the Bop It-agon game get!

Relive your own fond memories of cable's most beloved game shows and enjoy a genuine piece of cable TV history!

How Do You Like Your Eggs? (1977)

Jackpot! (1985)

Teen Win, Lose, or Draw (1989)

Supermarket Sweep (1991)

Family Game Night (2010) 

Wild Wind Matches

Slept in so late, it was well into afternoon before I finally got moving. Had brunch quickly, then took the laundry downstairs. Listened to the original cast of The Wiz while I ate. While not as funky-urban as the subsequent film version, there's many charms to be had here. Stephanie Mills makes a charming Dorothy with her lovely "Be a Lion" and "Home," Mabel King really dives into "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News," and Andre De Shields' Wizard crackles with sleazy desperation.

Put the laundry in the dryer, then worked on moving the remaining cast album CDs to the case I bought from Amazon while listening to The Wiz and the original cast of Dreamgirls. I do wish they hadn't cut so much of the score for this cast album! You do get some good songs, including Jennifer Holliday's Tony-winning performance of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," but not a great sense of what this was like onstage. You do get a few numbers that didn't make it into the film, notably "Ain't No Party" for Lorrell (Lorette Devine). 

Brought the laundry upstairs, then finished the night with dinner and the second half of that Match Game Black History Month marathon. Nipsey Russell is probably the most popular black performer to appear on the show. He was known as the Poet Laureate of Television for the witty poems he would toss out, usually at the beginning or end of a show. Along with George Kennedy, he's my favorite man to have sat in the first male ingenue seat regularly. He played well and had no trouble dealing with Brett's flirting. 

Clifton Davies, who is about to play the patriarch in the new CBS daytime soap opera Beyond the Gates next week, was another frequent favorite in the first seat. He was probably the most laid-back semi-regular. Very little ruffled his feathers, including Gene's occasional "back of the bus" comment and the bad Confucius jokes that now has the second nighttime episode banned from the airwaves.

There were other black panelists on the show, too. Comedian George Kirby showed off his hilarious collection of voices in 1974. Gail Fisher, the secretary from Mannix, also turned up early in '74, as did goofy Laugh-In comedienne Chelsea Brown and Good Times mother figure Esther Rolle. Rolle's screen son Jimmie Walker relished the rare chance to sit in Charles' seat when he was late for two tapings in 1975. Mabel King appeared on a rather underpowered week in 1978, and didn't seem overly thrilled to be there despite getting to show off her terrific voice. Arsenio Hall always had a great time on Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, whether he was needling Gene or jumping into the "canal" behind the risers. 

Tough Scoey Mitchilll was a regular from 1974 until 1981. Truth be told, he didn't always look like he wanted to be there. In fact, he often seemed downright grumpy. He did get to show off his splendid physique in 1981 when Gene tore the T-shirt he wore that advertised an LA radio station before he realized he was giving both the women on the panel and in the audience a free show. They ended up taping the shirt back together. No wonder Brett always enjoyed flirting with him.

Celebrate more of the best black performers in Hollywood with this hilarious marathon!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics - Celebrating Black History Month with Special Celebrity Moments (Part 2)

And...whew! I'm glad I was off today. The weather was crazy. It was sunny when I got up, but by the time the marathon was going, clouds had moved in, and the wind suddenly whipped into a frenzy. At one point, the lights blinked, and we lost the internet. Thankfully, nothing like that has happened since then, but I can still hear the wind howling outside and rattling the house. 

Sculptures In the Snow

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and The Backyardigans. Tasha, Pablo, and Uniqua are the Do-Gooders, a band of nice bikers who like the help people. This includes mail-moose Tyrone when he loses his "Special Delivery" Valentine's Day mail. He believes all the cliches about biker gangs and tries to outrun them, but they're determined to stay on his trail and get the mail back to him. 

Took Uber this morning, partially due to concerns about the weather, and partially because Jessa was picking me up later. It only took five seconds for me to get a ride and five minutes for the gentleman to arrive, confirming my suspicions that it was just too darn busy yesterday to get any kind of public transportation.

Work went perfectly fine. I spent the morning sweeping and gathering carts. I did end up behind on the carts when they kept getting me to put cold items away. Unless it's meat, the cold stuff can go in freezers or coolers until I have time for it. The carts kept emptying. They needed to be done first. 

After work, I changed into a normal shirt, then grabbed a Wild Cherry Pepsi Zero to get money for the Girl Scouts. I tried to get cookies from them last week, but forgot the money. I always buy cookies from the Girl Scouts. I remember when my sisters were Girl Scouts in the late 80's and early 90's and had a hard time selling cookies to the few people who were actually living on the northern end of Cape May in January. I got peanut butter sandwiches, Lemonades, and Caramel Delights. 

Jessa was already there when I was buying the cookies. We went straight out to the sculpture garden in Hamilton from the Acme. The drive was mostly on highways until we hit Hamilton, a suburb of Trenton. One of the premiere attractions in the area is Grounds for Sculpture, an enormous sculpture garden featuring works by many different modern artists. We stopped and bought the tickets and used the bathroom at the sprawling modern visitors center, but we'd explore it more extensively later.

Grounds for Sculpture is a rambling sculpture park, featuring many types of statues in a natural, woodsy setting. We followed paths under arbors, through random small doors, and over Monet-style wooden bridges. Statues of artists painted by a gurgling waterfall. A statue of a woman in red flaunted her gown on the placid pond. More provocative and less family-friendly statues and house-art could be found wandering around in the woods and on the path around the lake. We ended up at their restaurant Rat's at one point, but it would seem they were closed for the season.

In addition to the realistic artists, my favorite statues outside were the duo in the courtyard. One reclined on a bench. The other reached to the heavens. Snow began to fall as we arrived in Hamilton, allowing a strange, magical hush to fall on the area and giving the statues an otherworldly air. I was actually grateful for the snow. It made the place seem even more supernatural and gave the statues a unique perspective that was far different than a sunny day. The tangle of woods and house-like "scream" buildings with bodies popping out of every corner looked even weirder with a frosting of white.

We were going to have lunch at the cafe, but they were only selling drinks and small snacks. The cafe that sold meals was also closed for the winter. The gift shop wasn't terribly interesting, either. We did admire a huge gallery of the work from Seward Johnson, the artist who founded the park. My favorite indoor statues was the realistic jazz band "playing" in the gallery. Apparently, Johnson had been a huge jazz fan in his youth, which explained the jazz music piped in around Rat's, too. The statue "house," complete with furniture you could walk in and look at, was neat too.

Here's the link. It's worth checking out if you're ever in Central Jersey and are interested in learning more about sculptures or modern art, or just want a nice, relaxing walk in a tranquil setting. 

Grounds for Sculpture

Our next stop after we left the Grounds for Sculpture was a huge thrift shop a few blocks away. We thought the place looked intriguing. It was, and it did have a lot of neat stuff...but it was either having a sale, or the residents of Hamilton had nowhere else to go on a snowy Saturday. The place was so mobbed, there was a line half-way around the store. We came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth the long wait and left with nothing.

Jessa recommended a diner not far from where she lives for a late lunch/dinner. The Piston Diner was a small but nicely remodeled local watering hole with great prices. Soup and sandwiches are their specialty. We both had iced tea and Italian wedding soup. She had a tuna melt and strawberry shortcake. I had a crab melt and peanut butter cake. Yum! The sandwiches were tasty and used real seafood, the fries were crispy and perfect, and the cakes were huge. My still-settling stomach regretted the indulgence later, but it sure felt good going down.

By the time Jess dropped me off at home, the snow in Hamilton had given way to all rain. It looks like it'll stay rain all through tomorrow. Not even snow here this time.

Watched Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale while changing and getting organized. I go further into this independent family film from 2010 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - Elle: A Modern Cinderella Tale

Finished the night with the Saturday Match Game Classics marathon at YouTube. We celebrated Black History Month with some of the most beloved black stars to appear on the show. Later angel Della Reece was the first to appear on the second week in 1973. She'd turn up sporadically through 1977, usually sitting in the fourth ingenue seat. Comedian Stu Gilliam also appeared on two memorable weeks in 1973. Nipsey Russell was one of the most popular semi-regulars, tossing out his poetry on and off from 1973 through 1979. He even turned up in the week with Valernie Bertanelli that was rediscovered a few years ago. Isobel Sanford was a calming, motherly presence on two weeks in 1976. Her first screen son Michael Evans had his only appearance on the show in 1974. Round and jolly Johnny Brown had a lot of fun on his only week in 1974. 

His Good Times cast mate Jimmie Walker got far more out of the show. Walker was a semi-regular from 1974 straight through into the 1990-1991 run. I honestly thought he was at his best in the 90's, where he was a bit more subdued and less annoying. Nell Carter and Roger E. Mosely also had fun on the 1990-1991 series. Arsenio Hall and his wild antics was one of the best things about The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour. You never knew what he'd do, including jump into what Gene dubbed "the canal" in the area behind the risers. 

Celebrate Black History Month with some of the best African-American panelists around!

Match Game Saturday Night Classics - Celebrating Black History Months with Special Celebrity Moments

Happy Sister-tine's Day

Began the morning with Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You. I went further into this bittersweet Pooh holiday special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2023. 

Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You

I tried to call Uber after the cartoon ended, but I just couldn't get through to anyone. Not to any Uber driver, not to any taxis. Everyone was either taking people to the Eagles parade or at the Eagles parade. I ended up taking the bike, but I was 20 minutes late getting in.

The floral department manager was frantic when I got in. She was desperately trying to fill buckets that were constantly emptying. I ran around, gathering buckets, setting flower arrangements on the table, and gathering bouquets for Door Dash orders.

I was loading buckets with huge double-sized bouquets of roses when I ended up being pulled to do carts. The head bagger was needed in a register to handle all the people on their way to the Eagles parade. I wasn't happy about it. They told me I was in floral today. They said they had no one else...until someone came in at noon, of course. He took over the sweeping, but I still did the carts, and cleaned up a spill and put cold items away, too.

Not really thrilled with my schedule next week. On one hand, still a lot of hours (if not to the degree of this week), a rare Sunday off, and all early four-hour days. Trouble is, Sunday is my only day off. The head bagger always takes the week following President's Day for her last vacation until our cycle starts over. I don't know why one of the guys couldn't have worked one morning. It wouldn't have killed them. The early hours should still give me the time to do some things, including get a cell phone.

Oh well. At least it was a nice day for all of this. Though it was chilly and blustery, it was also sunny, with a radiant blue sky. If we could only have one nice day this weekend, I'm glad it was the day of the parade. The floral department manager even gave me and the other two employees who helped her this week $5 off reward coupons for doing a good job.

And that coupon couldn't have come at a better time. I needed groceries. Restocked yogurt, granola bars, pads (had an online coupon), and prebiotic sodas. The store has just started to stock more Poppi flavors. Decided to try root beer and cherry cola. Thought bananas would be easier on my stomach than apples or citrus fruit; had another online coupon for the organic ones. Grabbed a bouquet of red carnations as a Valentine's Day gift for a friend who loves flowers. 

Went straight home after that. Changed, put everything away, and went right back out again. I texted Jessa two days ago and offered to take her out for a combination Valentine's Day/early birthday gift. (Her birthday is next week.) I know she loves Asian food, so I gave her a gift card to Benihana, the Japanese hibachi restaurant in Cherry Hill. I'd never tried them before and thought they'd be something different for dinner. They were busy when we got in, with a relatively long line, though it only took us about 15 minutes to be seated.

We ended up at a long, wide table with two dads and their adorable six-year-old son and a young-ish couple. You ordered either five or six course meals at a fixed price. I went with a five-course and got chicken with vegetable fried rice, shrimp, and veggies. Everyone got a delicious mushroom broth soup. The kid got chicken fingers. Everyone else waited for a chef in a tall hat and white coat to quickly chop, dice, and slap meat, rice, vegetables, an egg, and Jess's noodles (she had a salmon dish that came with noodles) on a long metal grill. He was hilarious, making quips and flipping bowls of rice to us. The kid was amazed, and everyone else had a great time, including me. Everyone but the kid had green tea after dinner, and then everyone but us had ice cream. My chicken was slightly dry but not bad, and I ate everything but the grilled onions and a little of the rice and chicken.

Jessa and I were the only ones who declined dessert. She's not that into sweets, and a friend of mine gave me a big heart-shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day. Besides, it was getting late, and the line was now three times as long. It was time to head home.

(Oh, and I think I've finally figured out where the stomach problems came from. I don't think it's a bug. I suspect that peri-menopause is to blame. Apparently, fluctuating hormones can create stomach distress. Oh swell. I hope this won't be a regular thing now.) 

My Valentine's Day gift to myself was three more disc media cases from Amazon. The big one will hold  cast album CDs. Soundtracks and jazz artists will go in the smaller ones. I started moving discs from the smaller cast album binder to the book while watching Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. Linus is so smitten with his teacher Miss Othmar, he buys her a huge box of chocolate for Valentine's Day. Sally is convinced the box is for her. Meanwhile, Lucy wishes Schroeder would leave his piano and acknowledge her existence, Charlie Brown waits in vain for any kind of a Valentine, and Snoopy is putting on melodramatic and messy puppet shows. 

A Charlie Brown Valentine spends its first half watching Charlie Brown desperately attempt to give the Little Red Haired Girl a box of candy, or at least try to drum up the nerve to talk to her. When he actually does call her, he accidentally ends up inviting Marcie and Peppermint Patty to the school dance instead. Sally tries to make a Valentine for her "sweet baboo" who wishes she'd disappear off the face of the planet, while Snoopy tries to keep up with the kids' demand for love notes and poetry.

I went further into the charming and very funny The Bernstein Bears' Comic Valentines on the same review as Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You back in 2023.

The Bernstein Bears' Comic Valentine

Finished the night with the Pink Panther. Pink at First Sight has him searching for a special pink panthress to spend his Valentine's Day with, but coming up short in the funds department. He buys a pile of tapes and a player and becomes a "singing" delivery cat. His Valentine's gets even crazier than mine when he has to dodge a jealous husband who thinks he's after his wife, an angry violinist who doesn't like what he did with his prize instrument, and gangsters who wants his tail after he innocently delivers a bomb. 

Here's even more specials on the funny side of love, for your late Valentine's enjoyment!

Alvin and the Chipmunks: I Love the Chipmunks Valentine's Day Special

Disney's DTV Valentine 

The Popeye Valentine's Special: Sweethearts at Sea

The Smurfs: My Smurfy Valentine

The Woody Woodpecker Valentine's Day Special: I'm With Cupid, Stupid

Buttons and Rusty In the Honey Bunch (A Chucklewood Valentine)

For Better or For Worse: A Valentine From the Heart

Cathy's Valentine

A Special Valentine With the Family Circus

From Disney With Love

A Goofy Look at Valentine's Day (Educational Short) 

And I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day, with a sibling, a significant other, or anyone else who's special to you! 

Heartburn Waltz

Began the morning with breakfast and The Busy World of Richard Scarry. When a soccer ball knocks a bird's nest out of a tree, "Huckle's Feathery Friends" prove to be quite a handful after he ends up taking them home. "The First Valentine" is written by a shy bear in ancient Greece in an attempt to court the Emperor's daughter. Dennis the elephant is nervous about "The Sleepover" in Sprout's barn, until his big trunk is able to sniff out a fire in the orchard and catch it before it spreads.

It was originally supposed to rain later, and while my stomach is feeling a bit better, it's not a hundred percent there yet. I called Uber again. No problems whatsoever. The guy who picked me up this morning arrived in less than a minute. The one coming in the afternoon took 12 minutes. No traffic or anything on the road.

Though the Acme wasn't busy today, I worked hard all morning and afternoon helping the floral department manager and two other employees set up the flowers for Valentine's Day. I dusted shelves around stuffed animals and vases. I twisted pink and red silk ribbon around vases to make fancy "corset" vases. I helped a nice lady who was looking for a small bouquet for her daughter's last basketball game of the season. I wiped down two tables, then loaded them with bags of candy, flowers, and stuffed animals and mason jar flower arrangements. I helped make smaller arrangements of red roses and baby's breath and larger ones of a really pretty red, yellow and orange flower mix that included roses and sunflowers. I gathered bouquets that had wilting or broken flowers to be thrown away or used for smaller arrangements. 

Soon as I got home, I got changed and organized while watching Happy Days. Joanie's excitement over her first real boyfriend leads her to a series of romantic musical daydreams in "Be My Valentine." Ralph croons "My Funny Valentine" to his clown date. Sailor Potsie insists "Save the Last Kiss for Me" to his island girl. Lori Beth and Richie do an Apache dance (and do very well with it, too). Chachi does a cane and top hat bit with chorus girls to "Thank Heavens for Little Girls." Fonzie recites his idea of romantic poetry to several swooning co-eds. Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham pretty much steal the show with their hilarious and spot-on rendition of "I Remember It Well." 

Switched to Porgy and Bess for a more tragic and romantic Valentine tale. I go further into this troubled version of the beloved Gershwin opera at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

My Tragic Valentine - Porgy and Bess (1959)

Moved to Match Game '91 during dinner. Charles Nelson Reilly directed Jo Ann Worley in a version of The Mikado, which led to a round of Mikado and Gilbert and Sullivan jokes that week. Meanwhile, Bruce Baum is slightly subdued compared to usual, and we have Bill Kirkenbauer, Gloria Loring, and voice actress Pat Musick. 

Finished the night after a shower with LPs that dug a little further into the romantic side of love. Heartbeat of the 80's is just that, a collection of ballads and soft rock from K-Tel Records in 1983. There's some big hits on here, including "Never Gonna Let You Go" by Sergio Mendes, the duet "Baby Come to Me" by Patti Austin and James Ingram, "Just Once" by a solo James Ingram, "Heartbreaker" by Dionne Warwick, "It Might Be You" from Tootsie by Stephen Bishop, and another hit duet, "You and I," by Eddie Rabbit and Crystal Gaye.

The soundtrack for Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown was finally released on physical media late last month. "Heartburn Waltz" and Snoopy's jangly "Paw Pet Overture" are the standouts here, but we also get the charming "Music Box Dance" that's a variation on Chopin. "Woodstock's Mambo" and "There's Been a Change" are also fun listens, and there's the extra jam in the finale "Last Call for Love."