Very Good Friday

Began the morning with breakfast and Peter and the Magic Egg on YouTube. I went further into this charming and unique 1983 special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2024.

Spring Short Subject Special - Peter and the Magic Egg

Did a few things online, then headed out to run errands in Westmont. My first stop was the Great Clips at the Westmont Plaza...but the wait there was over 75 minutes! I wasn't hanging around there. I left my name with the young lady and headed back out.

By default, I ended up getting brunch at the Westmont first instead. This time, I had a waffle, a small cup of cantaloupe and fresh pineapple chunks, Pepsi Zero, and bacon. Oh, yum! The waffle was a huge brick, the approximate size of a life raft, crunchy on the outside, moist on the inside. It was topped with spicy honey butter and real syrup. The bacon was melt in your mouth crispy. It was even tastier than last time, even if that enormous waffle was too big to finish.

I got the 15-minute warning text for Great Clips just as I was heading back up the hill to the Westmont Plaza. This time, it only took 10 minutes to get a stylist. I just needed it cut a bit shorter. My hair gets so frizzy when it's too long! Considering the young woman who helped me had her own considerable curls, she knew how to handle them. I now have blunt-cut, very cute chin-length curls framing my face. They're still a little frizzy and dry, but nothing to the degree that they were.

The other reason I was in Westmont was to go grocery shopping. I didn't really need a ton of food at any rate. I got coconut milk, white chocolate-macadamia nut cookies, dried raspberry lemon mango slices from the bulk bins, and two cans of sparkling water at Sprouts. The cookies and Hint sparkling water were on clearance. The coconut milk is just cheaper at Sprouts. 

Rode past the Haddon Township Library, the Burger King and McDonald's, and the high school to the Westmont Acme next. They were surprisingly not that busy. Sprouts was actually a bit busier. Everyone must have come earlier - the carts were empty. I restocked blood oranges, apples, soda, yogurt, granola, and granola bars. Picked up lemon cake mix and white chocolate chips to make cookies later.

Took the long way home across Newton Lake Park. It was cloudy at this point, but not too chilly, probably in the mid-60's. It certainly looks like spring in the park now. Buds and new bright green leaves swell on the trees. Thick green grass and sunny buttercups carpet the shore of the lake. I pushed my bike on the path that goes over the hill to the Haddon Township Environmental Center, and it was thickly padded with green undergrowth and dusky pink and white flowers on the trees.

Made the Lemon White Chocolate Yum Yums when I got home. This is based on that Chocolate Yum Yums recipe from Christmas Is Coming 1987, with lemon cake mix replacing the devil's food mix, white chocolate chips replacing the nuts, and no sprinkles or chocolate bar topping. Yum! I tried one that fell apart, and they came out perfectly, light, sweet, and zesty. I'm going to give them to Jessa, Rose and her kids, and friends for Easter.

Checked my schedule when I got upstairs. In good news, I have Easter off, along with Monday and Tuesday. I took Tuesday off for a dental appointment. I work straight through the rest of the week from Wednesday onwards, including an 8 1/2 hour day on Saturday. I have no idea why the 8 1/2 hour day. I know the head bagger probably went on vacation this week, but couldn't they have gotten one of the college students or high schoolers who are on vacation this week to take at least part of the time? 

Watched Match Game '90 after I finished the cookies. Most of the episodes finished the run with Fred Travelena and Brett Somers. It's always good to see Brett again. She was technically retired by this point, but Charles had talked her into being on the show, and his instincts were solid. They were just as funny as they were in the 70's. Edie McClurg makes her debut on the show in the next week, joined by game show host Jonathan Prince, Ronn Lucas and Scorch, and Khrystyne Haje from Head of the Class. 

Finished the night with The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town. I went further into my favorite Rankin-Bass Easter special at the first Easter review for my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2019. 

The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town

It's a Sunshiny Day

Began a late morning with breakfast and Pac Man. Mezmeron gives "The Pac Mummy" a medallion that allows him to control it. Pac Man has to save Pepper and Pac Baby from the Pac Pyramid when the Mummy makes off with them. It's "Nighty Nightmares" for the Ghosts when they accidentally turn their nightmare machine on them and have wacky bad dreams about Pac Man and the other Pac-landers chomping them.

Switched to Murder She Wrote while looking up the website for the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. Private eye Harry McGraw (Jerry Orbach) may think "Tough Guys Don't Die," but someone killed his partner when he was out on assignment. He believes it had to do with one of the three cases the guy was working on, but Jessica thinks he's got the wrong one. While he pursues a man who may be two-timing his wife, Jessica looks at a murder who may have had the wrong man arrested and the female editor of a magazine who suddenly retracts her intention of running for public office.

Switched to The First Easter Rabbit while having a really quick lunch and getting ready for work. I went further into this Rankin-Bass special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2023. 

Easter Short Subject Special - The First Easter Rabbit

Thankfully, no trouble getting a ride to the Thomas Sharp School, other than I made the call late and had to pay a bundle for it. At least the guy arrived in 5 minutes, and I got there in plenty of time.

We started with reading two books in the library, since the music class was still using the cafeteria. I had 10 kids today, and they were a little antsy in the bathrooms and waiting in line. I had to remind them not to block the door to the halls. The boiler room is right across from the boys' bathroom, and the custodians have their offices between the two bathrooms. They need to get in. Snack time and playing afterwards was even crazier. One of the girls spilled applesauce on herself, and I did my best to clean up her shirt front. Another one threw colored pencils at me until I got mad and put her in time-out. (Her mother did get her to apologize to me before she left later, and I had a talk with her.)

It was too beautiful outside for anyone to be angry for very long. I'm so glad we spent the rest of the afternoon outside. In fact, after it was down to four younger kids, the remaining older kids joined us on the playground. It couldn't have been a more perfect day in mid-March, mid-upper 50's, sunny, and breezy. I pointed out buds on the trees to the kids, another sign that spring is truly here. They happily chased each other and danced to "The Floor Is Lava" and songs from Frozen, Trolls, Moana 2, and KPop Demon Hunters. They even got on the swings, once their numbers had dwindled enough that fewer people were likely to get hurt around them and there were less of them to argue about who would go first.

Jessa picked me up around 5:30. We had a light dinner at Honeygrow at the Ellisburg Shopping Center in Cherry Hill. I'd been wanting to try that place for ages, but there's so many other restaurants in the area, I'd just never gotten around to it. It's basically the same idea as Cava or Chipolte, only with stir-fry and salad in bowls instead of Mexican or Mediterranean food. Jessa had the Chicken Shawmara and strawberry-guava drink. I had sparkling water and a make-your-own bowl with whole wheat noodles, shrimp, vegetables, and garlic butter sauce. Oh yum! It was a wonderful melding of flavors, perfect after all that running around with the kids.

We had dessert at the Rita's Water Ice on the other side of the shopping center. It was getting a little chilly by the time we finally got down there, which is probably why we were the only ones there. Jessa got a butter pecan cone. I couldn't decide and had a gelati with mint chocolate chip water ice and chocolate ice cream. Since it was getting chilly, we ate our treats in Jessa's car.

Finished the night at home with The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town. I went further into my favorite of the three Rankin-Bass Easter specials at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog way back in April 2019.

The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Tow (plus Here Comes Peter Cottontail)

Olympic Winds

The wind woke me up around 8:30 AM. It was fierce, shaking the pine trees outside and rattling the house to its core. My knee was still pretty sore, too. Between the wind, the extreme cold, my knee, and the snow on the street, there was no way I was going to work. I rang up the Acme and called out, then went back to sleep.

The wind continued to blow hard when I did finally roll out of bed. It must have blown the snow off the street, because Johnson was clear by noon. I hurried downstairs to move the recycling canister closer to the house and empty that...and it was so biting cold, that was the only time I even remotely went outside today.

Warmed up while eating breakfast and watching She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. Three members of the Horde, Kyle, Lonnie, and lizard kid Rogelio, have been sent to pick up supplies by Catra. When their transport is damaged by an acid spore shower, they have to breach "Protocol" and figure out who should be the one to repair it. The same spore shower has also damaged Light Hope and the Crystal Castle while Adora is training there. Light Hope is far sweeter when she's rebooting, showing Adora how much she cared about the previous She-Ra, Mara, before Mara went rogue.

Switched to winter and winter-sports themed specials next. I go further into Frosty's Winter Wonderland, the sequel to the original Rankin-Bass Frosty the Snowman, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Frosty's Winter Wonderland

Did the winter sports-themed specials next in honor of the Winter Olympics, which began yesterday. Peppermint Patty is hoping to become the next figure skating diva in She's a Good Skate, Charlie Brown. Snoopy is her relentless manager. Peppermint Patty has to fight local hockey players to get ice time and is convinced Marcie will make her a costume. Marcie can't sew, and Snoopy ends up doing that, too. We learn what Snoopy can't do when the tape for her music gets tangled, and Woodstock ends up bailing her out.

The Pink Panther is off to Lake Placid for the Olym-Pinks in this 1980 special. He's the star of the ski team, to the frustration and resentment of his long-nosed rival with the mustache. His rival constantly attempts to one-up Pink and only ends up with a cold and second place for his troubles. Meanwhile, Pink has his own problems dodging a piano that is determined to follow him everywhere, even onto a live wire.

Put up the Valentine's Day decorations as well as I could with my knee next. I put off putting them up because of my knee, but I really wanted to get them up before the actual holiday. I have two thick red and white tinsel garlands, one of which went in front of the TV on the media center. There were also two heart-shaped candy boxes that were too pretty to throw away, a pink bear-shaped tin, two vintage cut-outs from the 70's and 80's depicting a bear holding a heart and a Holly Hobbie-type pioneer girl whose puppy is giving her kittens, a giant cut-out cardboard heart, and three stuffed animals. Valentina the Love Penguin and Amoura the Love Frog are leftover from the WebKinz fad of the 2000's and early 2010's. Valentino is a Valentine's Beanie Bear. 

Switched to Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle at YouTube next. Drawing the WENN superhero artwork with the kids got me thinking of my ideas for my (hopefully) upcoming WENN superhero story Captain Victor, Man of Power. This three-part PBS documentary covers the origins of superheroes during the Great Depression, how they flourished during World War II, then vanished in the 50's once the threat was over and all comics became suspect to high-minded intellectuals. They made a comeback in the pop-art 60's when the Batman TV show became a sensation, and superhero comics began to embrace stronger themes and more diverse characters.

Finished the night at YouTube with the Match Game marathon. Match Game is also celebrating sports this weekend with the first of two sports-themed marathons. This one revolves around questions on Olympic sports like skating, track and field, and gymnastics. The vast majority of these questions occurred in 1976, when the Montreal Olympics were running, or in 1980 during the Lake Placid Winter Olympics. There were jokes about what Pinocchio used his nose for, about a warden who lamented that he shouldn't have let his prisoners do Olympic sports that involved jumping over walls, and involving the things gymnasts do. We heard sports questions during the week in late 1975 where Richard Dawson's then-girlfriend Jodie Donovan appeared, when Fannie sat in for Brett during the last week of 1977, when Brett Somers came in wearing a West Hollywood Olympics shirt, prompting jokes from her best female friend Marcia Wallace about what she actually won at said Olympics.

Celebrate the Winter Olympics with this hilarious Wide World of Game Show Sports!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Olympics Games Marathon

Baking Matches

I woke up at 7 AM...and promptly called out. My knee was too sore for pushing carts. If I had worked in the morning, I might have reconsidered, but I wasn't supposed to be in until 1:30. Working in the afternoon means I'm just helping with the carts. They'd live without me today. 

Went back to sleep after that. When I got up for good, I had a nice, warm breakfast while watching winter-related animated specials. Frosty's Winter Wonderland brings Frosty the Snowman (Jackie Vernon) back, to the delight of all his kid friends. Frosty's lonely when they're inside at night, so they create a "snow wife" (Shelly Winters) they dub Crystal to keep him company. Trouble is, they can't figure out how to make her "all livin'" at first. Meanwhile, Jack Frost (Paul Frees) is jealous of Frosty's popularity and would love to blow those snow people right off the map.

Frosty Returns from 1992 was one of the last cartoons made by Bill Melendez, and as such, comes off as more of a cross between Rankin-Bass and a Peanuts holiday special. This time, Frosty (John Goodman) appears to two kids in a town whose winter carnival is threatened by an industrialist (Brian Doyle Murphy) who created a spray that quickly removes snow. The kids know that the kind of magic winter needs can be found in good friends and cozy days, not quick ideas.

I went further into another Rankin-Bass winter special, Jack Frost, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2020. 

Jack Frost

After that ended, I switched to YouTube for Dot and Keeto. I also go further into the fourth movie in the long-running Dot series from Australia at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Dot and Keeto

Spent most of the afternoon looking over my Once Upon a Time In the Land of WENN story. With The WENN Nutcracker Suite having stalled and it being past Christmas anyway, I thought I'd double back and take a look at this Game of Thrones-esque fantasy I've been working on for a decade. I started it in August 2015, worked on it off and on through early 2016, then dropped it after I got into Star Wars. Started it again last May, but ultimately switched to Hilary and the Beasts instead. 

It's the early 4th season, between "And If I Die Before I Sleep" and "Hilary's Agent." Betty is writing a new series for a sponsor who was inspired by her When In Rome script and asked for a deeper fantasy story than usual for a radio show. As usual for Betty, her problems, including the three men in her life, intrude...and explode into the story of Elizabeth Roberts (Betty) who discovers her destiny as the Light Guardian even as she deals with the two men in her life, noble King Victor (Comstock) who is currently a spy, and former Prince Scott (Sherwood), who now steals from the rich in the woods and leads the rebel faction. 

After Dot and Keeto ended, I decided to try something downstairs. I still had buttermilk and coconut leftover from Christmas baking. I made Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread from The Taste of Home Baking Book, adding coconut to the batter and sprinkling it along with the cinnamon sugar between the layers. Oh yuuuummm! It came out perfectly, sweet and spicy and moist, and smelled amazing in the oven. I haven't made anything this good in ages. And it only took me about 10-15 minutes to put together, too. 

Finished my night with a late lunch-early dinner and tonight's Match Game marathon. I'm not the only one who loves good food. Despite Gene Rayburn's frequent admonishment that they weren't supposed to be eating on the air, food was often consumed in front of the cameras by panelists anyway. Charles brought a burger with him during a syndicated episode. In a 1974 show, Richard stole an apple given to Brett by an audience member. Also in syndication, opera singer and avowed pasta lover Diana Sorvino handed plates of spaghetti and meatballs to the panelists. Gene once let everyone try out caviar. There was the contestant who brought kiwi from his farm for everyone to test, too. There were also all of the jokes about the "Russian" club soda Brett and Charles imbibed, and the time Bill Daily spilled water and ended up out of his chair to wipe it up. 

Food also turned up in Audience Matches and Head-to-Heads. Betty helped a Naval officer in a nighttime episode whose answer to her Head-to-Head was a brand of beer. Another one in 1975 had "Pie __." "Mama" Cass Elliot got teased quite a bit about her weight and what she ate during her one week in 1973. There was also the obvious answer to "Club __," given how much of it the panelists (supposedly) consumed. 

Enjoy dinner and a show with the Match Game panelists in this tasty and rib-tickling marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - What's for Dinner Marathon - Featuring Food & Drink Items On Match Game

Oh, and at press time...it still hasn't snowed, iced, or done anything but look ugly and be cold. It hasn't all day. I don't think it's supposed to arrive until later in the morning. 

This Could Be the Start of Something

Began the last day of 2025 with breakfast and Arthur on PBS Kids. Arthur is worried that his little sister DW will invade "Arthur's Sleepover." DW is more interested in taking photos of the aliens who were supposedly seen in the area. Her brother and his friends find a way to head her off. He says he doesn't want to stay up for "Arthur's New Year's Eve," but changes his mind after his friends tell him about all the cool things that happen at midnight. Grandma Thora reminds him that the important thing about the New Year is to remember the fun things you did in the past year, and make your hopes for the year ahead.

Headed out shortly after the cartoon ended. I had errands to run, starting at Dollar General. I was only going to be in Oaklyn and on the White Horse Pike, so I was on foot. They didn't have sparkling juice, but I did get disinfectant wipes and their generic electrolyte mix. 

Crossed the White Horse Pike and went down West Clinton for lunch. Common Grounds Coffee House wasn't terribly busy when I arrived shortly after 2 PM. In fact, I just missed a huge group of college kids coming in for drinks before they got ready to go out. I enjoyed a slice of spinach tomato feta quiche, a slice of crumb cake, and a Holiday Chai (a sweet cranberry chai latte) while listening to their chatter.

I am so glad The Score Records opened on West Clinton across the street from Common Grounds last August! Though they don't have the selection some of the larger record stores in the area have, they do cassettes, records, t shirts, and local crafts. I treated myself to one new album, found a K-Tel collection I didn't have, and dug two more out of the unpriced albums on the shelves under the bins:

Taylor Swift - Red (I'd get more of her albums if they weren't so expensive! Even her downloads tend to be pricey.)

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol II (I've had Volume 1 for 20 years. It was one of the albums that came in the box of 65 records Bruce gave me for my birthday in 2006 that used to belong to my stepmother Kaye.)

Soundwaves (K-Tel collection) 

Made a couple of quick stops back on the White Horse Pike next. I still have those Dunkin' Donuts gift cards from the kids, so I grabbed a cream donut. Went across the street to Family Dollar. They didn't have sparkling juice either, but I did find what I suspect will be my last Holiday Vanilla Cream Coke Zeroes for the holiday season. I got two. 

Went straight into Happy New Year, Charlie Brown when I got home, then Rudolph's Shiny New Year. I went further into these at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews in 2023 and 2019 respectively.

Rudolph's Shiny New Year

Happy New Year, Charlie Brown!

Switched to New Year's Eve sitcom episodes after the cartoons ended. Laverne and Shirley have a difficult "New Year's Eve - 1960." Shirley is excited about her big New Year's Eve party, and Laverne is thrilled that she got a date with a guy she's been interested in for years. When the guy's girlfriend comes back and Shirley gets a cold, they end up commiserating together in their apartment. Good thing Lenny's there to drop Squiggy at midnight instead of the ball.

Stayed at Pluto TV for The Odd Couple. Felix brings Oscar and his ex-wife Blanche (Brett Somers) together on the anniversary of their divorce. It's "A Night to Disremember" when they and Felix recall the New Year's party that led to their splitting up very differently.

They're not the only one with two different views on a New Year's Eve party. Donna on The Donna Reed Show tells her teen daughter to "Have Fun" on a big date with a handsome, shy local boy (George Hamilton). She hurries back shortly afterwards, claiming the date went badly and her life is over. Donna and Alex tells her the story of their first date on New Year's Eve to cheer her up, but they also recall the night very differently.

Switched to YouTube to finish 2025 with more New Year's game shows. We had the last Family Feud episode of 1982 and of 1988. Richard Dawson and his families settled for New Year's related questions, but the Ray Combs-hosted episode ended with balloons dropping and noisemakers. 

Every year during the CBS run, Match Game would celebrate the end of the year and the changing of their sign with balloons, noisemakers, streamers everywhere, and a lot of drunk panelists running around. In 1975, Charles popped a 1975 balloon that revealed a smaller one for 1976, then another balloon on a paper...and his thumb. In 1976, a very ugly paper mache eagle dropped an egg with Match Game 77 on it. Brett was out doing a play in 1977. (Not in jail, like they kept joking that week.) Fannie Flagg more than adequately substituted. This is also when the balloons and streamers dropped first. Charles and Brett launched the show's new sign with detachable numbers in 1978. The activity was too much for Gene, who passed out during the credits.

New Year's Eve on Match Game Hollywood Squares Hour coincided with their Leave It To Beaver week. Though it did feature most of the cast of Leave It to Beaver (and prop comedian Gallagher), they didn't do much for the holiday besides Gallagher playing with balloons. Match Game '90, on the other hand, went all out, with black and silver balloons everywhere, the panelists and host Ross Schafer in tuxes and gowns, and Brad Garrett doing a dead-on impersonation of an on-vacation Charles Nelson Reilly. 

No TV show celebrates the New Year like Match Game! Celebrate 2026 with these hilarious episodes, plus one more 1977 Match Game episode and a bonus episode of Super Password!

Match Game New Year's Celebration Party

Family Feud (1982)

Family Feud (1988)

Match Game (1977)

Super Password (1987)

And here's hoping you have a safe and happy 2026 with all the people you love to match with!

Happy Holidays With Family

Began the morning with the Colliers Harvest of Holidays book Linda Young sent me years ago. My favorite of the short stories here is "Miss Flora McFlimsey's Christmas Eve." An old doll stored in an attic manages to walk downstairs and see the tree on Christmas Eve. The other dolls make fun of her when Santa puts her aside to give to a little girl, until her mouse friend and the tree angel bring down her trunk and remind her of how beautiful and loved she really is. There's also the story of "Barney and the Wee Cap," as an Irish miser tries to escape his neighbors begging for charity by taking a leprechaun cap that allows the wearer to travel wherever they want. He discovers that poverty and charity are everywhere, and it's not so bad to help your fellow man out.

Since we're supposed to get snow later this weekend, I put on The Snowman while eating breakfast. This dreamy British special has a young boy creating a snowman who comes to life. He introduces him his home and room. The snowman rides a motorcycle, then takes the boy to the North Pole, where he meets Santa Claus and dances with other snowmen.

Switched to The Little Drummer Boy as I got organized. I went further into this classic Rankin-Bass religious special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog on Christmas Eve 2020.

The Little Drummer Boy

I first opened gifts with a friend and her teen daughter. I had gifts for them, for her adult son and his girlfriend, and for their cat. They gave me fluffy pink sleeper socks and candy, including a bag of peanut brittle, a box of chocolate truffles shaped like shells, dark chocolate "wave" candy shaped like potato chips, and chocolate-covered gingerbread.

Headed out to Rose's shortly after at around quarter of 1. As at Thanksgiving, Finley and their dogs Oreo and Cider met me at the door. Jessa arrived just a few minutes after I did. Though she seemed to like the dinosaur book, Finley was mostly excited about the Pokemon cards I gave her, especially the ones I found in the parking lot of the Acme! Finley is also crazy about magnetic tiles. She had made a massive castle with her new set and had spent her morning trying to keep the dogs from knocking it down. 

I got some pretty nice gifts from them, too. Rose and her family gave me a small but elegant box of Godiva chocolates. My present from Jessa was a lovely glass popcorn ornament and a gift card to AMC Theaters. (Good, I want to see the new Hugh Jackman movie Song Sung Blue sometime next week, probably Tuesday. I'll go to the Deptford theater - it's nicer than the AMC in Cherry Hill.) 

I spent most of the afternoon chatting with Rose and Jessa. It was nice to be able to talk to adults! I don't get to see Rose that often, and we don't really get to talk as sisters. We discussed our jobs, how happy I was to be off of both my jobs this week, and why Rose and her family stayed in South Jersey for the holidays instead of going to New Hampshire. Rose had a huge spread out. In addition to most of the same things she had at Thanksgiving - the shrimp cocktail, vegetable tray, plate of grapes and berries, platter of cheese, and bowls of chips, rolls, and crackers - there were wet, tasty steamed clams. Rose said she should have soaked them longer before she brought them out, but they tasted fine to me.

Craig spent most of the afternoon watching the Cowboys-Commanders game. Considering the Commanders are not great this year, this was a lot closer than I thought it would be. In the end, the Cowboys finally outran them 30-23.

Jessa finally drove me home around 4. I spent the next few hours eating a ham and cheese wrap and watching game shows on YouTube, starting with the annual Match Game Christmas marathon. I came in for the 1975 episode. In 1976, Charles complained about not getting to dress as Santa again. (He did that once, in 1973.) He got his wish in 1977, where he pretended to be a drunk Santa complaining about appearing on all the other networks. (At least, I hope he was pretending to be drunk.) He and Brett had more fun in 1978, where he dressed as Santa, and Brett was a little girl sitting on his knee.

The only Christmas Syndicated episode ended with the entire panel singing "Jingle Bells" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Christmas on The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour featured Jon Bauman in a Santa hat and beard, while Nedra Voltz dodged sexual and age-related questions and Marty Cohen reminds everyone that Hanukkah ended a few days ago. Match Game '90 got even more into the holiday, with lavish decorations and Rip Taylor and his confetti replacing an on-vacation Charles. Marcia Wallace spent her week explaining her increasingly wilder injuries, while Taylor hit Fred Travalena over the head with his toupee for doing a bad imitation of him.

Wait, there's more! The 1977 Match Game Christmas episode, with Charles dressed as a drunken Santa, was run separately later. We also had the 1982 Christmas episode of Family Feud, Bert Convy and Carol Burnett doing battle on Password Plus during Christmas week 1979, and the 1987 All Star Super Password with the cast of Father Knows Best not doing very well guessing words. It's a riot of ho-ho-ho holiday game show hilarity!

Match Game Merry Christmas 2025 Blank-a-Thon

Family Feud (1982)

Match Game (1977)

Password Plus (1979)

Super Password (1987)

Finished my night at Amazon Prime with The Christmas Toy. I go further into this classic Jim Henson holiday special from 1986 at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Merry Christmas! - The Christmas Toy

And I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend, surrounded by all the people you love to match with! 

Christmas Cookie Time

Began the morning with breakfast and the original Rankin-Bass Frosty the Snowman. Given our current weather, I figured this couldn't be more appropriate. Frosty comes to life on Christmas Eve thanks to a magic hat that was thrown away by lousy magician Professor Hinkle. Little Karen and Hinkle's rabbit Hocus Pocus take it on themselves to get Frosty back to the North Pole to keep from melting. Professor Hinkle follows, hoping to get his hat back. He thinks he's won when he traps Karen and Frosty, but as Santa Claus reminds Karen, snow never really goes completely away.

Spent the rest of the morning beginning one of my favorite parts of the holiday season - cookie baking! I made the recipes that use cake mixes as bases today. I first made Cake Mix Peanut Butter Cookies in 2012, when I was broke and looking to cut corners. The resulting cookies were so delicious, I've used the recipe for Christmas every year since. Chocolate Yum-Yums come from the craft book Christmas Is Coming 1987. The original recipe calls for devil's food cake mix and nuts, but I thought red velvet cake mix and white chocolate chips were more festive. I even replaced a little oil with some buttermilk, which many red velvet cake recipes call for.

Listened to unique Christmas music collections while I worked. Something Festive! doesn't look like a Christmas album. It's bright bird pinata cover screams Cinco Del Mayo, not Epiphany. The song selection is a bit more holiday-oriented. A&M founder and owner Herb Alpert gets two numbers with his Tijuana Brass, "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bell Rock." Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66 do "The Christmas Song." Liza Minnelli performs the heartbreaking ballad "Raggedy Ann and Andy," while Claudine Longet gets the gentler "Snow." 

Things picked up with the first volume of A Very Special Christmas. This 1987 collection ups the energy quota with The Pointer Sisters' "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and John Cougar Melloncamp's "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Bon Jovi is a "Back Door Santa," Stevie Nicks does a gorgeous "Silent Night," and Run-D.M.C tosses rap into the mix with "Christmas In Hollis." (Hey fellas, mind if I join your Christmas? I love chicken and collard greens!)

Switched from rap and hard rock to soul and R&B for Soulful Christmas. Brook Benton's "This Time of the Year" and a lovely Patti LaBelle "Blue Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland" are my favorites here. We also have Sonny Til and the Oreoles asking "What are You Doing New Year's Eve?" and claiming "It's Gonna Be a Lonely Christmas."

Returned to the world of Frosty during lunch after I packed up the cookies and put everything away. Frosty's Winter Wonderland brings Frosty back, but he's lonely when the kids go inside. They make him a "snow wife" he dubs Crystal, but she's not "all livin'" like him at first. It's not until Frosty makes Crystal a simple gift of love that she's finally able to be with him. Meanwhile, Jack Frost is jealous of Frosty's popularity with the kids. He'll do anything to get Frosty's hat and his magical ability to move.

Called Uber after I finished lunch. Alas, I couldn't get a driver for 20 minutes. Maybe it's just as well. I was able to do some quick chores. The driver did pick me up on time, but it still meant I was 5 minutes late to work. It took them almost 13 minutes to arrive going home. At least there was no traffic either way.

On one hand, we had 22 little kids and 20 older ones today, and as you can likely guess, no one went outside on a snow-covered playground. On the other hand, they were surprisingly not that bad. Bathroom breaks got a little crazy, but that was the worst of it. They mostly colored or played with magnetic tiles. I joined the kids coloring. Drew myself making cookies this morning on one side, Hilary the Sugar Plum Fairy and Jeff the Cavalier dancing while Annie the Rag Doll watches happily on the other. Read one of the littlest girls The Bernstein Bears Go to the Dentist when she requested it. 

There was a box waiting for me when I got home. I hadn't ordered anything. It turned out to be a revival of my annual Kimberly Clark box from Lauren. She and her parents own small stocks in the company and usually send me a box of their products. I kept the box of Kleenex tissues, the packs of tissues, the Cottonelle wipes, and the Thermos cup. I'll give a friend the Viva paper towels. Might see if I can donate everything else somewhere. (Oh, and incidentally, Lauren says she got my box today. She loved everything I gave her, and her parents loved their CDs.)

Switched to Match Game Syndicated during dinner, after I took the laundry downstairs. No idea why Buzzr jumped way, way ahead to the second week of the syndicated series. Debralee Scott and Patty Duke joined in to hear David Doyle attempt impressions (and Brett and Charles not get what they were supposed to be).

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite next. Betty hears Mr. Eldridge and Gertie talking as she prepares porridge for the next day. Gertie tells Mr. Eldridge that Princess Pirlipat, the Betty look-a-like who rejected Prince Scott after he became a Nutcracker, now has the music box with Cavalier Jeff. Jeff was turned into a wax doll dancing on a music box by the Mouse King. She also suspects he has the Christmas Star Sword, the family heirloom that had been stolen from Scott when he turned into a Nutcracker. The Nutcracker insists on sitting next to Betty's bed, though he can't sleep. He insists that his name isn't Scott, that he doesn't know who he is, but Mr. Eldridge knows better. 

Finished the night with holiday episodes of favorite game shows when I finally remembered to get the laundry out of the dryer and bring it upstairs. I had no idea Fun House had a Christmas episode until tonight. It was pretty cute, too. Kids dressed children in the audience as Rudolph, pushed a "sleigh" with flying "reindeer" while dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus, and raced through a Fun House decorated with tinsel garlands and fake snow.

Christmas goes way back on game shows. What's My Line's holiday episode in 1955 featured the Salvation Army Band and Johnny Marks, who wrote the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." (Which the Salvation Army proceeded to play.)  Christmas 1972 on To Tell the Truth introduced three female mall Santas and three gentlemen who claimed to be snowmobiling across the colder parts of the world.

Bob Barker was out sick during Christmas 1974 on The Price Is Right, so Dennis James filled in for him. Alas, he didn't have much luck with the games. I don't think anyone won their Pricing Game in this episode. The Showcases went better. One brought in Santa Claus (Johnny Olsen) to give a list of gifts. The other was gifts that represented A Christmas Carol.

Christmas is for families, too. Wheel of Fortune brought in family duos to play together during Christmas week 1992. A mother and her son had apparently dominated all week, and continued to do so that night. They were the only ones to get any money or prizes, and they won the bonus round, too.

Hollywood Squares got their Christmas party on in 2001 with Terri Garr, Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Mull, Andrea Martin, Jean Louisa Kelly, Loretta Divine, Brad Garrett, and author John Saul, among others. The contestants played equally well, with one lady getting to the bonus round and choosing to keep her big bucks rather than risk an extra question (that she would have been wrong about anyway, as it turned out).

Celebrate the holidays game show style with these festive episodes!

What's My Line (1955)

To Tell the Truth (1972)

The Price Is Right (1974)

Fun House (1989)

Wheel of Fortune (1992)

Hollywood Squares (2001)

Winds of Christmas

Began the morning with breakfast and A Christmas Carol on Tubi. This is the half-hour version animated by Richard Williams in 1971. No wonder it won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film a year later. Williams' work on this is haunting, from Marley and the ghosts outside Scrooge's window to Want and Ignorance under the Ghost of Christmas Present's robe. 

Hurried out even before the cartoon ended. I was ten minutes late to my appointment with Bryanna. She really just wanted to touch up with me anyway and see how the after-school program is going. That is mostly going fine. I love working with the kids, and I like the Thomas Sharp School. I don't like the constant turnover in the program. No wonder I got a job so easily despite my lack of experience working with kids. Since I don't have kids, it's also hard for me to keep up with the school schedule and remember when they have half-days and holidays. I'm going to stick with the after-school program until at least the end of the school year and see how I feel. The kids don't need to lose anyone else.

I do still want out of the Acme, however. I also still need to find a decent place to live that isn't an attic. Bryanna suggested calling my counselors at DVRS after the holidays to ask about low-income housing. Isn't all of that in Camden, and don't you have to sign a long, long waiting list to get it? I'm probably better off just trying to see what I can afford in Deptford and Cherry Hill.

Made a quick stop at Target on my way home. I was mainly there to get something for my nephew Collyn's birthday tomorrow. I also grabbed a few things to make cookies next week, including nifty hot chocolate and marshmallow-flavored chocolate chips and cake mix for the peanut butter cookies. 

Rushed home, loaded Collyn's birthday gift into his family's Christmas package, sealed the package, and rushed to the Oaklyn Post Office a couple of blocks down. I wanted to send my Christmas packages before work today. To my delight, there was no line when I arrived. I was expecting the line to be out the door. Sent a card for Linda Young and packages for Anny and her kids, Lauren and her parents, and Mom, Keefe, and his family. 

Since I took so little time at the Post Office, I was able to stop at Dollar General around the corner. I picked up red velvet cake mix and maraschino cherries for cookies next week and more bags for cookies. The line wasn't bad, and I was in and out.

Good thing I got to the school on time. The kids were really crazy today. It was sunny, but too windy and cold for them to go outside. They were so noisy in the bathrooms, the custodial staff complained. They just would not sit down in the cafeteria, no matter how many toys we pulled out for them or how many pages they colored. We put music on a speaker belonging to one of the teachers and let them dance, and it still wasn't enough for them to shake their sillies out. I did manage to get off early when there were only 3 pre-schoolers and kindergartners left by quarter of 4.

Hurried home and into baking. Normally, I'd bring cookies to the Acme's Christmas employee buffet, but for some reason, it's being held a week early this year. I don't make my cookies until the week before Christmas. That's why I needed buttermilk yesterday. I made the delicious gingerbread bars recipe from Samantha's Cooking Studio instead. Yum! It came out perfectly and smelled amazing in the oven.

I was so tired, after the gingerbread came out of the oven, I just grabbed my coat and strolled two blocks down to Crown Chicken and Gyro to get a tilapia sandwich and fries for dinner. At least it was a nice night for a walk. It remained cold, but the wind had died down considerably since I'd gotten back from school.

Had dinner while watching Hollywood Hotel. I go further into this Busby Berkeley-directed musical with Dick Powell that introduced "Hooray for Hollywood" at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Hollywood Hotel

Finished the night with two beloved animated holiday soundtracks. A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of the great jazz soundtracks of all time, and in fact, was one of the first records I bought after Dad gave me my first record player in 2006. "Linus and Lucy" and "Christmastime Is Here" were the big hits. I also like the lovely, flowing song played while the kids skate and "O Tannenbaum."

Decca re-released the soundtrack for the Rankin-Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer on LP in honor of its 60th anniversary last year. My favorite song from this one is its lively hit "Holly Jolly Christmas," performed by Burl Ives. There's also the Misfit Toys' "The Most Wonderful Day of the Year" and Clarice the Reindeer's sweet ballad "There's Always Tomorrow."

When the Clouds Roll In

Got a quick start today with breakfast and "Santa's Workshop" at Disney Plus. This Silly Symphony short is the first of two Disney made revolving around Santa Claus and what he does. In this case, we get to see the elves making toys and caring for the reindeer, and Santa inspecting and loading the toys. I love the parade of marching toys near the end of the short, especially the tumbling teddy and adorable wind-up piggies.

Called Uber right after the short ended. It was still sunny at 9 AM, but it was supposed to rain later. Not to mention, I figured Uber would get me to the Thomas Sharp School faster after work. I just wish they hadn't taken 13 minutes to come! There was no traffic when they did arrive, but that meant I was late.

Fortunately, that was the worst thing that happened all day. Work went just fine, other than I had a lot of cold items to return. It did pick up around 11:30-noon as the clouds pulled in and the lunch rush hour started. Other than that, it wasn't terribly busy, and there were no major problems. I even picked up buttermilk for a baking project and a card for my nephew Collyn's birthday this week.

Called Uber when I came out. Thankfully, this time they only took 7 minutes to arrive. Once again, there was no traffic going to West Collingwood. The gentleman pulled up at the Thomas Sharp School less than 5 minutes later. 

The classes were bedlam when I knocked on the door. I wasn't the only teacher who was late or couldn't come. One teacher called out sick. Another couldn't get out of her other job at all. At least we only had 17 preschool and kindergarten kids when I came in, more than yesterday but still not the big group we had on Monday. I spent most of the time coloring or building with magnetic tiles with them or taking a few kids at a time to the bathroom. One of the boys even gave me the piles of artwork he did today.

Since it wasn't raining when I got out, I walked home. I had to make one last stop anyway. The post office was still open at that point. Normally, I use leftover Amazon boxes to send my Christmas packages in the mail, but I didn't buy any Christmas gifts from Amazon this year. I just grabbed free boxes from the post office instead.

Packed up the boxes for the post office when I got home. Watched Santa Claus Is Coming to Town while I worked. I went further into this classic 1970 Rankin-Bass special on the origins of Santa at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog way back in December 2018.

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

(Oh, and it started raining again not long after I got home. It's rained lightly off and on ever since.)

Switched to Match Game '75 during dinner. We skipped ahead to one of Bob's best weeks. He and fellow vintage game show host Arlene Francis got to see Carol Bartos become the biggest winner the show ever had up to that point with over $20,000. When Fannie gave her the winning answer to "__ Tie" in the Head-to-Head, she even excitedly tossed out her black bow tie.

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite after dinner. After hearing Mr. Eldridge's story of how he was cursed and Pirlipat rejected him, the Nutcracker separates from the others and sits near a window. He finally speaks, telling Betty he has no idea who he is or what his name is. He only remembers falling over the Mouse Queen and loses his sword. Betty tells him how much he reminds her of her friend Scott Sherwood and that she thinks he's very brave. She passes out on his shoulder, and he gently carries her to Gertie's bed to sleep. 

Took a shower, then finished the night with two vintage Perry Como holiday specials at YouTube. We first head to Williamsburg, Virginia in 1978 for An Early American Christmas. Como explains Colonial holiday customs, receives a rare pineapple as a gift, sings and dances with Diana Canova, and shares a cup of grog with John Wayne at a local tavern. (Sadly, Wayne died less than six months after this special's release.)

Angie Dickenson and fashion designer Pierre Cardin joins Como for Christmas In Paris in 1982. Dickenson is thrilled to get a Paris gown, but Como likes his French holiday trips simpler. They encounter two frog puppets who want to dance for Dickenson, sing in a Parisian music hall with the beautiful French singer Line Renaud, and listen to the Boys' Choir of Notre Dame.

Winds and Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Garfield's Thanksgiving. Garfield is thrilled that the holiday with the biggest feast and the most food is coming up, until Liz the veterinarian puts him on a diet right before the holiday. Even worse, Jon invites her over for Thanksgiving dinner. Not only does Garfield ruin the vegetables, but Jon has never cooked a turkey in his life, and his mind is too focused on his date to do much cooking anyway. Good thing Grandma Arbuckle from the Christmas special knows what to do.

Switched to Pac Man, which is now at Tubi, while I stripped the sheets on my bed, then put the warmer tan striped flannel ones. This is the original 1982 Hanna-Barbara show my sisters and I loved when we were kids. Premise is pretty simple. Pac Man (Marty Ingalls) and his wife Ms. Pepper Pac (Barbara Minkus) chomp ghosts to save their Pellet Forest from the evil Mezmeron. "Rip Van Pac" has Pac Man sleeping for 20 years after drinking a witch's potion. When he wakes up, he discovers Mezmeron has taken over Pac Land and has to help the younger generation find new Power Pellets. "Happy Pacs-Giving" is Grandma Pac's retelling of the first Thanksgiving. The Pac-Pilgrims are so grateful to have chomped the Native ghosts, they hold a big feast...and invite the ghosts, too.

Moved to Dailymotion for The Mouse On the Mayflower while I put all of the CDs I've listened to lately in my CD books. I went further into the only Rankin-Bass Thanksgiving special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2020.

The Mouse On the Mayflower

Headed out early after Mouse On the Mayflower ended. I had a few things I wanted to pick up at Dollar General before I went to work. Got bags for the Christmas cookies next month and a card for my brother Keefe's birthday tomorrow. Stopped at Crust n' Cravings for quick slices of cheese and tomato, basil, and mozzarella pizza.

Rushed in slightly late, which wasn't a good thing. The kids were really rowdy today. We had a hard time with some of them on the playground. One of the boys took his shoes off (forgetting he had to step on mulch once he got off the slide), and it took forever to get several of them into their jackets. They don't want to acknowledge that it's just not summer weather anymore! It's barely fall weather. In fact, it was darn cold today, cloudy and gale-force windy, probably in the upper 40's. 

The kids weren't out for very long anyway. The wind was so bad, we took them inside early. We tried to let them play silent ball and musical chairs in the cafeteria while other kids colored printed pages or built with Duplos and magnetic tiles, but they got too crazy and made too much noise. Two of the teachers moved the musical chairs group to the library. The ones who stayed made enough noise. I had to fight with one of the younger girls who shouldn't have been messing around with scissors, and scold two of the older boys for making a mess of the Duplos.

Hurried home, took my laundry downstairs, and watched Match Game '76 while eating a quick dinner. Ron Pallilo of Welcome Back Kotter became the actor from that show who appeared the most on Match Game along with Debralee Scott. He was sweet, funny, not a bad player, and handled Brett's flirting pretty well. I actually kind of wish he'd turned up more often with Deb after the show ended.

Worked on The WENN Nutcracker Suite as well. Betty's surprised when a tiny white fairy flutters to the ground. When she grows to human-size, she resembles Enid, the young intern who joined the station a few months before. Mr. Eldridge finally gets the horrified Snowflake Fairy to admit that the Mouse King's guards attacked the fairies and kidnapped Sugar Plum Fairy Hilary and Cavalier Jeffery. She's a prisoner in the Mouse King's furnace. He was turned into a dancing doll on a music box and given away.

Finished the night on YouTube honoring the career of Jack Clark, whose birthday would have been next week (after I finally remembered to bring up the laundry). Gentlemanly Jack Clark was a true California native who is mostly today remembered as an announcer, but did host a few shows. His first hosting gigs was as a substitute for vacationing hosts on major shows. He stood in for Allen Ludden several times on the original Password and Bill Cullen on The Price Is Right. 

He seemed to be the go-to man for pilots that never quite sold. In fact, he wouldn't get a full hosting gig on his own until the show Dealer's Choice in 1974. Three contestants play a series of gambling and number-inspired mini-games. The winner gets to roll for prizes. Kind of a mess, and I can understand why this only lasted a year. 

Clark's only hit as a full-on host was The Cross-Wits from the late 70's. In this cross between Password Plus and crossword puzzles, two celebrities help a contestant guess the answers on a crossword that is really a series of clues. The contestant who guesses the most puzzles gets help from one of the celebrities in guessing 10 crosswords in a minute in the bonus round. Fast-paced and fun, I really wish more of this show would turn up online. Nipsey Russell, James Hampton, Elaine Joyce, and Rosemary Forsyth are the stars who help out in the episode I have here.

He's best-remembered today as the announcer for Wheel of Fortune from 1980 to 1988. I wish I remembered him better. My family was just starting to watch the nighttime show when he passed away in 1988. I have a typical syndicated episode from 1985 here to give you an idea of why he was so beloved on the show.

Clark was one of the hosts who took part in that three-week Game Show Hosts Tournament on Card Sharks in 1980. He did really well, too. He came in third after Bill Cullen and Alex Trebek. He played Gene Rayburn in the consolation round...and it made me wish Clark had turned up on Match Game. There can't be two more different MCs than dirty old man Gene and gentlemanly Jack. Watching them butt up against each other was hilarious. 

Spin wheels, guess the crossword puzzle, and take on the house with the gentleman announcer of game shows!

Password (1963)

The Price Is Right (1965)

Dealer's Choice (1974)

The Cross-Wits (1979)

Card Sharks Host Tournament Semi-Finale (1980)

Card Sharks Host Tournament Week Finale (1980)

Wheel of Fortune (1985) 

Good and Busy Friday

Started off my morning with breakfast and the 2018 Muppet Babies. "Kermit and Fozzie's Egg-cellent Adventure" has them working together to find eggs during their Easter hunt. Fonzie wants to rush ahead, but he finally learns that it's best to make a plan first when he keeps tripping himself up and missing the eggs. Animal needs to use the bathroom, but he also doesn't want to miss all the fun of finding Ratlantis. It becomes "Animal and the Little Accident" when he keeps trying to hold it.

Switched to Paramount Plus for PAW Patrol. "Pups Save the Easter Egg Hunt" when Mayor Goodway breaks her arm and can't color the eggs. Even after the Pups fill a basket with them, the basket, Rocky, and Chickaletta are stolen by an eagle who isn't too happy that Alex took her egg to color! The others have to get them down and rescue the basket.

Put on The Easter Promise next while doing chores and making the bed. Addie Mills (Lisa Lucas) and her friends are excited when Broadway star Constance Payne (Jean Simmons) comes home to Clear River, Nebraska for Easter 1947. She claims her father James (Jason Robards) once dated her, but in truth, he thinks she's snooty and eccentric. Addie invites Constance to dinner with her family and to give out prizes at her school's style show. James' constant criticism of her life choices at dinner ends with Constance drinking too much wine and turning up at the style show drunk. 

She makes up for it by agreeing to teach acting to Addie and her friends. That goes well at first, but she's plastered again by the second lesson. Addie is ready to give up, but her grandmother (Mildred Natwick) reminds Addie that we should never abandon a friend who needs help, and spring is the perfect time for new beginnings. 

Other than I wish they'd shot on location again instead of on a soundstage, this is my favorite of the four Addie Mills holiday movies. The style show is especially hilarious. I liked Cora Sue's peach "Hollywood" dress the best, but Addie's rickrack dress was cute, too. I get such a kick out of seeing how Addie and her friends celebrate Easter. They remind me so much of my sisters and I when I was 12. (Mr. Mills would be happy to know we dyed boiled eggs, not blown ones.) Lovely Easter viewing, especially if you have girls Addie's age.

Here's my friend Linda Young's website with more information on the films!

Put on the Bluey "Easter" episode while eating lunch fast and getting ready for work. Bluey and Bingo follow clues to find where the Easter Bunny hid their eggs. When the train runs cold, they think the Bunny forgot them...until they see sequined footprints leading to the desk...

It goes without saying on Good Friday we were busy the entire afternoon. I was hard-pressed to sweep and keep up with the carts. I had no help, either. The head bagger ended up in a register the entire time. The lines were just starting to settle down when I finally finished.

At least the weather wasn't bad. It's much warmer than it has been, in the mid-60's. It's also still windy, and though it was sunny earlier, the clouds moved in around 2 and hung around for the rest of the day. 

Got my schedule before work. In good news, I did get Easter and Thursday off, as requested. I knew the only way I'd get those days - or any days - off next week would be to ask for them. I work the entire rest of the week. Seven people went on vacation, including the head bagger. If people aren't on Easter break, they're using the last of their vacation days before our cycle starts over in May. Rather surprisingly, it's all short morning work straight through, no 8 1/2 hour days. 

Needed to do grocery shopping after work. Restocked yogurt, oranges, soda (they have more new probiotic brands on sale), and granola bars (Kind bars were on sale). Got a gift card for my nephew Khai's birthday tomorrow and tulips for a friend who loves flowers for Easter. Had an online coupon for "cream brulee" sandwich cookies, aka soft sugar cookies stuck together with cream like vanilla Oreo Cakesters.

Put everything away, then took a shower. Had dinner while watching Match Game '77. The audience was even more unruly than usual in these episodes, thanks to a group of high schoolers cheering on everything Richard said. Gene had more trouble with the two contestants ending up in a scoreless tie...at least until the much-traveled English gentleman started to catch on. Joyce Bulifant is more excited that she's giving some pretty good answers for a change as Bob Barker and Eva Gabor look on.

Watched Here Comes Peter Cottontail at Tubi next. I went further into this at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog in 2019. 

Here Comes Peter Cottontail and The Easter Bunny Is Coming to Town

Finished the night at YouTube with more of the Wink Martindale Password Plus tribute. Gene Rayburn kicked off this episode by trying take over Tom Kennedy's hosting job...and realizing that Tom wears his microphone and doesn't carry a wand-like one. Wink does better with the Alphabetics round, getting his lady through at the very last second.

Change of Heart

Began the morning with breakfast and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Mickey and Minnie hide six eggs, and the rest of the gang has to find them in order to reveal "Mickey's Springtime Surprise." Funny Bunny Pete plays all the tricks he can in order to keep the others from finding those eggs!

Headed off to the Haddon Township Library to meet Bryanna around quarter of 11. Got there just in time...to learn that she was late and wouldn't arrive until 12:30. Figured I'd get my grocery shopping done and went across the street to Target. My cell phone went off while I was in the snack food aisle. Seems she meant 11:30, not 12:30. I just grabbed brownie mix (which was on sale), granola bars, and an Orange Cream Coke Zero and rushed back across the street.

Bryanna was there when I arrived. She had applications for the Gloucester Township Libraries to sign. On one hand, they were only for part-time summer work, one as a regular library assistant, the other as a youth library assistant. I thought I wanted a real full-time job, but I'm beginning to wonder if I'm up for that big of a change. As badly as I want out of the Acme (and I want out very badly), it might be better to do something smaller and see what I'm really interested in and what I can handle.

Explored the library a bit before I finally headed out to finish running errands at the Westmont Plaza. I couldn't find the treat bags I thought I picked up for the kids' Easter gifts, so I bought larger ones at Dollar Tree. Also grabbed two last Easter cards there. Picked up golden raisins, coconut milk, soda, sparkling water, sprinkles, poppy seeds, brown sugar, and bananas at a quiet Sprouts. 

At least it was a gorgeous day for all the running around! The sun was finally out, without a hint of cloud anywhere. Though it remained windy, it was also much warmer, into the lower 60's. It was so nice, I stopped at the Hispanic ice cream parlor on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike on the way home. The lime and cookies ice cream I had was delicious, crunchy and sweet all at once, with just enough hint of lime.

Went straight home after I got out of Sprouts. Watched The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town while I ate lunch and moved the new CD/cassette player to the top of one of the low book shelves in the bedroom. (The stuffed animals that had been there went on top of the record crate where I originally had the cassette player.) I went further into this and Here Comes Peter Cottontail at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog way back in April 2019.

The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town

After that ended, I went downstairs to make Pastel M&M Brownie Cookies. The original recipe called for the brownie cookies to be topped with Cadbury pastel eggs, but I already had the M&Ms. I mixed the M&Ms and sprinkles in with the brownie mix and added cocoa and more flour for extra richness. Yum! I'm giving these away and didn't taste them, but they sure smelled chocolate-y in the oven!

Listened to the Wicked soundtrack on my new CD player while I made the cookies. I almost didn't buy this. I've had the original cast album for years, and the song list is identical to the first half of the show. However, it does have fabulous performances from its two witches. Adriana Grande's "Popular" and her part of "Dancing Through Life" is adorable. Cynthia Erivo does equally well by gentle ballads like "I'm Not That Girl" and big belting numbers like the finale "Defying Gravity." Honestly, if you loved the movie, you'll probably want this, too. 

Tested the cassette player while the cookies were in the oven. It almost immediately ate my original copy of the Beach Boys' Still Crusin', but the soundtrack from the 1945 State Fair worked just fine. State Fair isn't regarded as one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best works, but it does have some decent songs. "It Might As Well Be Spring" won an Oscar, and I'm also fond of the ballad "That's for Me" and the chorus number "It's a Grand Night for Singing." 

My Jack Benny Show cassette played fine, too, and I've run this to death since I bought it in college. "Phil Harris Goes to War" with his band in the episode I listened to. More specifically, they joined the Merchant Marines. Jack is more interested in the trip to New York they'll be taking in the next episode, including the ultra-cheap Acme Arms Hotel. (Wonder if he ran into any Looney Tunes there?) Meanwhile, Mary Livingstone prefers to think of her husband as a mother duck, Rochester explains to Jack that he got the wrong pajamas back from the cleaners, and youthful singer Kenny Baker hasn't gotten around to seeing his boss' then-new movie yet. 

Did Sunday School Musical when I went back upstairs. I go further into this religious B-movie imitation of High School Musical at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Sunday School Musical

Switched to Match Game '77 during dinner. Buzzr took a flying leap into the week with Patty Duke and Nipsey Russell. Thankfully, Richard was still in a decent mood here, surprising considering this was the week after the infamous School Riot and he couldn't have been happy with the show or producer and judge Ira Skutch at that point.

Wink and Gene are only doing slightly better mid-way through their Password Plus week. Wink finally got to an Alphabetics and did well on it. Gene, however, keeps using long words that no one understands or have to be explained. 

Finished the night with the two children's Easter albums I've dug up in the last few weeks. Disney's Peter Cottontail has a too-sweet choral version of the title song, but also includes a retelling of the short story "Grandpa Bunny" from Storybookland. Songs about Thumper and the White Rabbit are just ok.

I found Peter Cottontail: The First Easter Record for Children to be vastly more enjoyable. Gene Autry has a lot more fun with the title song, along with the western-themed "Bunny Round-Up Time." Rosemary Clooney gets the cute "Eggbert, the Easter Egg" and "My Choc'late Rabbit." Art Carney gives us two goofy story-songs, the retelling of Peter Rabbit as "Flop, Mop, Cotton, and Pete," and the description of bunnies as "A Thump, A Twinkle, and a Twitch, or How to Make a Rabbit." 

Chilled Matches

First of all, here's my review for the Golden Films special Princess Castle, which I watched last night, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Animation Celebration Saturday - Princess Castle

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the Silly Symphony short "The Goddess of Spring" at Disney Plus. This is a retelling of the Persephone and Hades myth that was intended as a practice run for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Some of the animation is gorgeous and the operatic music is stunning, but the story can get too cutesy, and Persephone moves like she's made of rubber.

I thought I was meeting Jessa later...and whether I was or wasn't, the weather was still bad. The rain had stopped by quarter after 10, but it remained cloudy, cool, and windy. I called Uber. The one going there came in 9 minutes. The one going home arrived in 6. No trouble getting there either way. I arrived just in time.

Started out sweeping and pushing carts. The head bagger was in the register the entire day. Moved to doing the carts after the afternoon bagger arrived and took over the sweeping and the trash. No trouble whatsoever. When the carts started vanishing, the afternoon bagger would come out and help. 

Unfortunately, Jessa canceled. She said we could meet on Monday. I still needed a few things anyway. Grabbed a card and gift card for Rose's birthday on Monday, more Spenddrift soda on sale, and the new PB&J Reeces Cup to try. 

Changed when I got home, then watched Here Comes Peter Cottontail. I went further into the first Rankin-Bass Easter special at my musical review blog in April 2019. 

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Finished the night at YouTube for today's Match Game marathon. Comedienne Marcia Wallace was playing Bob Newhart's super-efficient secretary Carol on The Bob Newhart Show when she first appeared on Match Game early in 1974. She appeared relatively often during 1974 and 1975, then disappeared until 1977 (thanks to trouble with Goodson and Todman). She appeared more frequently during the syndicated run, when she was often seated next to her Bob Newhart co-star Bill Daily. 

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Marcia and Brett became best friends, given they shared the same salty sense of humor. Marcia could occasionally get a little too salty. Her answer to a question on where a guy lost a few inches on a 1977 PM episode was censored. There was also the time that year when she accidentally got marker on her bare shoulders, which Richard and Gene used to play tic tac toe. She had more luck back in 1975 when, after a year, she finally got her first right answer and a standing ovation. 

Marcia probably did some of her best work during the syndicated run. She was one of the three comediennes who replaced Brett when she was in St. Louis during that week that just ran on Buzzr a few days ago and even finally got to sit in Brett's character actress seat. She was also present for the insane answers to the Audience Match question "Denise __" and had to listen to a woman give a long, rambling, and rather gross description of the worms she kept in the refrigerator to feed her daughter's frogs. 

You can learn a lot from Bob Newhart's favorite secretary and Bart Simpson's favorite teacher in this wild marathon!

Match Game Saturday Classics - The Best of Marcia Wallace 1974 - 1981

Of Bats and Bunnies

Began the morning with breakfast and The First Easter Rabbit. I went further into this 1976 Rankin Bass special at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog back in 2023.

The First Easter Rabbit

Switched to Press Your Luck while making my grocery list. The episode had the woman champ win money for a home viewer...only to lose hers minutes later to a Whammy. The one guy was the only one to avoid the Whammy and pick up a trip to Washington DC. 

Checked my schedule while the show was on. Mostly the same hours as last week, but an early day on Sunday, and this time, the 8 1/2 hour day is Saturday and Wednesday is back to four hours. The Sunday bagger and head bagger must have taken those days off. I badly need to find a better job, or at least something to do with myself at home or nearby.

Headed out to make a quick grocery run. I got white and brown sugar and dried apricots from the bulk bins, coconut milk, bananas and Waterloo sparkling water in 99 cent cans at Sprouts. Picked up blood oranges for a good price, yogurt on sale with an online coupon, coconut macaroons off the bakery clearance rack, new Spindrift soda on a good sale, pads, and butter for baking later. Neither store was busy, and I spent a little over 20 minutes in both. 

Cut through Newton Lake Park on the way home. It's really green now. The hills and banks of the lake are carpeted in bright green and sunny yellow buttercups. The trees burst with pink, lavender, and white and show the first signs of leaves. 

After I got up the hill and past the Haddon Township Environmental and Historical Center, I went to the A& Pretzel Shop for lunch. They weren't busy, either. I was able to get pretzels, a cheesesteak-stuffed pretzel, and a Diet Pepsi in peace. 

Put on It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown while having lunch after I got home. The Peanuts are excited about their spring festivities, even as Christmas decorations go up at the local department store. Peppermint Patty tries to teach Marcie how to color eggs, but Marcie can't seem to grasp the concept of hard-boiling. Snoopy buys Woodstock a birdhouse. Charlie Brown takes Sally shopping for shoes. Lucy pesters Schroeder for gifts and colors and hide her own eggs. Don't bother with all the fuss, says Linus. The Easter Beagle does all that. Sally's skeptical after the incident with the Great Pumpkin at Halloween, but Easter morning brings more than one surprise for the kids.

After I finished lunch, I brought the butter downstairs to do some baking. I had two very ripe bananas that were so soft, they were practically turning into pudding in their skin. There's a recipe in the Pillsbury cookie book Anny gave me years ago for banana cookies that only requires bananas, vanilla, brown sugar, flour, and salt. No eggs or baking powder or soda. The recipe came with a caramel frosting, but I thought the brown sugar and ripe bananas made the cookies plenty sweet enough without it. Yum. They came out tasting like perfect mini banana bread morsels and smelled amazing in the oven. 

Switched to Batman Forever in honor of Val Kilmer, who died earlier this week, while the cookies cooled. He's Batman here, fighting Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) in a somewhat more colorful Gotham. Nerdy Edward Nygma (Jim Carrey) wants Bruce Wayne to consider his new machine that can send TV signals into the brain. Bruce points out the possibility for it to manipulate minds and rejects it. Nygma continues to develop it anyway, eventually programming it drain minds and transfer the information to his. Nygma calls himself the Riddler and joins Two Face to get rid of Batman once and for all.

Bruce has his own problems. He's trying to deflect the interest of psychologist Chase Meridan (Nicole Kidman), who is very interested in his split personality. After a family of aerialists die trying to stop Two-Face from killing everyone watching a local circus, Bruce takes in the orphaned youngest member Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell). Dick wants to join him and avenge his family, but Bruce knows all too well that revenge is a dish best not served at all. However, he may need more help dealing with Nygma than he originally believed. The Riddler is slowly losing his grip on reality...and may be manipulating more than brains when he gets Bruce into his machine, too...

I know a lot of people find this to be too goofy, but I think it walks the right fine line between the camp of the TV show and Batman and Robin and the violence and darkness of the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan films. Kilmer and Carrey put in career-best performance as the tortured costumed vigilante and the obsessed researcher-turned-supervillain. Not everything lands; Kidman is underused in a thankless love interest role, O'Donnell can be annoying, and Jones is really miscast as the other villain. 

Honestly, if you want to check out a Batman movie, the just-dark-and-weird-enough tone might make this the best place to start. You can go backwards or forwards from here, depending on how dark or campy you like your superhero films.

Switched to Match Game '73 during dinner. I really wish Pat Carroll had returned after her one week. She was hilarious and not a bad player. Robert Culp, on the other hand, didn't seem to get the humor and didn't have nearly as much fun. Nipsey Russell made his debut in the next week, complete with poetry, while Charles returned and Brett moved downstairs to the fourth ingenue seat to annoy Richard. 

Finished the night with Princess Castle at Tubi after a shower. I'll go further into this unique Golden Films fairy tale at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog tomorrow. 

Snowy Day at Home

Began the morning with essays from the Colliers Harvest of Holidays anthology. Martin Luther King Jr  was still alive when this book came out, but the material from United Nations Day works just as well, as both worked toward peace and understanding. I read Dorothy Canfield Fisher's "A Fair World for All," "Prayer for a Better World" by Stephen Vincent Benet, and several poems.

Watched Doc McStuffins while getting dressed and eating breakfast. "Snowy Gablooey" is usually able to stretch his goo-filled arms and do tricks, but he's frozen solid after Doc's brother Donnie left him outside. Doc gives him a bath and teaches the toys how to warm up again. Sir Kirby wants to keep playing ice hockey in "Gooaal!," but has to sit out when he dislocates his shoulder. He coaches Hawaiian doll Lelani to take his place.

Ran Family Feud while getting organized, then took the laundry downstairs and went outside to shovel a friend's driveway. I was originally going to do her driveway, the sidewalks, and the front steps, but those are in direct sunlight. By quarter of 1, the fine snow had melted or blown away. The streets were also clear. Once again, I believe we only got about three or four inches. I still had a harder time shoveling the driveway than I did two weeks ago. It was sunny and bright, but also biting cold, not even in the 20's, and there was that wind. Even with all that, it still took me less than an hour to shovel the driveway and salt around the back door.

Put the laundry in the dryer, then tried another soda cake recipe. This time, I made an orange cream cake with vanilla mix and orange soda. Actually, despite the sharp orange flavor of the Fanta, the cake came out a little bland, and the layers cracked on top. I still left them to cool. They weren't perfect, but they were edible, unlike my attempt at candy last month.

Watched The Scooby Doo Show while eating lunch. "A Scary Night With a Snow Beat Fright" takes the gang to the Arctic, where they were supposed to join us with a professor friend in a native village. They arrive to find the professor vanished and the inhabitants driven off by a giant dinosaur-like snow creature. While Scooby falls for a pretty sled dog, the others try to figure out just what the creature is after.

Switched to the Rankin-Bass Jack Frost special while folding my laundry and rounding up donations for Goodwill. I went further into this bittersweet fairy tale at my Musical Dreams Reviews blog for Groundhog's Day in 2020.

Jack Frost

After the cartoon ended, I tried to frost the cake...but the top layer broke when I pulled it out, and the frosting wouldn't move. I had to microwave it to make it cooperate. I had a slice later after dinner. Not bad, but you taste icing more than cake. Next time, I'll be more careful with keeping an eye on the layers, make it as a sheet cake or cupcakes, or add more soda or more orange flavoring like orange juice. I may also add a little oil or butter.

Spent the next hour and a half finally finishing the Seasonal inventory. Added A Victorian Christmas, a collection of songs with Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra, and titles from Manheim Steamroller, Barry Manilow, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Monkees, the Platters, and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I'll begin the children's record inventory tomorrow. I have even fewer of those than I do seasonal albums, so it shouldn't take that long. 

Listened to winter-themed records while I worked. Jazz at the Olympics seems to be a live album by the Ralph Sutton Quartet, likely performed during the 1960 Squaw Valley Games from selections like "Winter Wonderland" and "Squaw Valley Blues." Their "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" and "I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling" were especially jaunty.

Winter Memories is another Columbia Records collection made to be sold in a certain outlet, in this case JC Penney. Despite the title, there really isn't a whole lot here that's especially wintry. Lynn Anderson's "Snowbird," Jim Nabors' "Try to Remember," and a bouncy instrumental "Sleigh Ride" by Andre Kostelanetz and His Orchestra are as wintry as it gets. (Although I did find Robert Goulet's "This Is All I Ask" to be fairly touching.)

Switched to Match Game Syndicated while finishing the inventory and having dinner. After a shower, I finished the night with episodes of Chain Reaction, which celebrated its 45th anniversary last Tuesday. Bill Cullen was the original host of this 1980 word game that had contestants guessing the word letter by letter that connects to the word above it. Celebrity guests help them solve the chain, then give the clues to the words in the bonus round. 

Chain Reaction was a fun and challenging show, but alas, it ran up against Fred Silverman and his determination to make David Letterman a household word in the mornings. It was one of the three shows cleared to make way for The David Letterman Show. (Which, incidentally, flopped. It was well-received by critics, but morning audiences didn't know what to make of it.) 

It reappeared in 1986 for Canadian TV and USA Network as The New Chain Reaction. The game play remained largely the same, but the contestant and celebrity teams were replaced by regular contestant duos, and the bonus round now consisted of guessing one last word chain. I have fond memories of watching this version on USA as a kid in the late 80's and early 90's. The sets were chintzy, but the game play was genuinely interesting. Blake Emmonds was the original host, but he was replaced by the the more personable Geoff Edwards after a few weeks. Edwards continued when the show moved to a tournament format as The $40,000 Chain Reaction for its last year. 

Chain Reaction has turned up three times on Game Show Network. None of their versions lasted longer than a year, but the one from 2006-2007 in particular seems to be fairly well-remembered. The 2006-2007 show kept the original game play, with three contestant teams and the bonus round from the 1980 show. The only thing that changed in 2015 was the host, the set (which went from blue to magenta and purple), the elimination of the Speed Rounds, two contestants again, and switching back to the 1986 bonus round. They went back to three contestants in 2021 and another bonus round that had the winning team making three chains in a minute. 

See if you can make chains and guess how words are related in these hilarious and heart-pounding word association games!

Chain Reaction (1980)

Chain Reaction Series Finale (1980)

The New Chain Reaction (1986)

The $40,000 Chain Reaction (1991)

Chain Reaction Series Premiere (2006) 

Chain Reaction (2015)

Chain Reaction (2021)

Wheels In the Snow

Began the morning with a big, warming breakfast of eggnog pancakes with butter and real maple syrup, clementines, and hot chocolate while watching Frosty's Winter Wonderland. Frosty's happy to come back and visit his kid friends after the first snowfall of the season, but he's lonely when they go inside. They create a snow-woman for him that he names Crystal, but it takes a little something special to make her "all livin'." Meanwhile, Jack Frost is jealous of Frosty's popularity and will do anything to get his hands on that magic hat!

Yes, we did get snow overnight. It was still coming down at a pretty good clip when I got up at 9:30, but by 11:30, it had begun to slow down. The snow was the fine, powdery stuff that blows around and is easy to clean. It stuck to the sidewalks and the grass, but the roads could have been a lot worse. 

Good thing I already had off and had planned on spending the day at home. I took the laundry downstairs after I cleaned up from breakfast, then spent the next hour-and-a-half or so taking down the Christmas tree. Put the ornaments away, took the lights and garland off, changed the bears who stay out year-round into their regular jackets and neck-bows, put the Christmas stuffed animals and their clothes into the Santa bag, put the Christmas ornament bin and the Santa bag in the closet where I keep the holiday decorations. Put the laundry in the dryer before I did the bears. 

Listened to the soundtrack from Wonka while taking the ornaments down. Though probably not quite as iconic as the 1971 film's music, there are some nice tracks here. The opening "A Hatful of Dreams" as Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) arrives at the European town where he hopes to open his own chocolate shop is lovely and wistful, and there's the sweet ballad for him and the orphan Noodle when he takes her to the zoo, "For a Moment." "A World of Your Own" is Wonka's number as people explore his chocolate shop, reminding everyone why they love fantasy to begin with. We even get Hugh Grant's two very funny versions of "The Oompa Loompa Song" as Lofty, a snooty Oompa Loompa who is trying to regain face after Wonka stole their magic while he was on the job.

Returned to Frosty cartoons during lunch. Frosty Returns is an oddity from 1992 that is pretty much Bill Melendez's attempt to cross the animation style and sarcastic kids of the Peanuts specials with the whimsical, weird plots and characters of Rankin-Bass. Jonathan Winters narrates the story of how budding magician Holly and her science-obsessed best friend Charles helped Frosty (John Goodman) stop a greedy businessman (Brian Doyle-Murphy) and his snow removal spray from destroying Frosty and the town's winter carnival.

Put the tree itself away after lunch, then did the rest of the Christmas decorations. Anything that goes up first - the wreath for the front door, the garlands and bows, the feather-style tree and its ornaments, the nativity and stockings and the red and green coasters I crocheted a while back - went in the last bin. The poinsettia place mats I'd just washed went in here, too. 

Listened to more soundtracks while I worked. Diamonds are Forever from 1971 was the last Sean Connery Bond film for over a decade. It's strange as heck but a guilty pleasure of mine just the same, and one of the reasons is the awesome, cynical title song performed by Shirley Bassey. I like it even better than her better-known theme from Goldfinger. 

I wanted the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack partially because I really enjoyed that movie back in July...and partially for the sheer variety of music used. You're not going to see "Angel of the Morning," the Platters version of "Only You," "Bye Bye Bye" by NSYNC, and "Glamorous" by Fergie in the same place anywhere else...and that's just side one, disc one! You have everything from Green Day's "(Good Riddance) The Time of Your Life" to Jimmy Durante's version of "I'll Be Seeing You" on the second disc. You might not be as interested in this if you're an 80's and 90's rock fan who already has a lot of these songs, but it's still worth getting for the truly eclectic selections.

By 3:30, the snow had long stopped. When I stepped outside, it was cloudy and still really windy, but otherwise not doing anything besides blowing snow around. I shoveled snow for a friend who was working most of the day. Thankfully, I believe we got the advertised 3 to 4 inches. The streets and many sidewalks were totally clear. I had a harder time, since neither the driveway, nor the sidewalk had been salted. At least it was really light snow like I mentioned, and not hard to scrape or lift.

Went back inside for Match Game '73. The first episodes I saw today featured one of my favorite panelists who only did one week...and one of my least-favorites. Comedienne Pat Carroll had a blast on the show and was funny as heck. I really wish she came back. Character actor Bill Culp didn't play well and didn't seem to really get the humor. Brett Somers spent that week arguing with her then-husband Jack Klugman in one of two weeks he sat next to her. The next week had a much better panel, with Charles Nelson Reilly returning and Nipsey Russell, Betty White, and Loretta Swit joining in. 

Finished the night after dinner and a shower with episodes of Wheel of Fortune in honor of its 50th anniversary today. Originally titled Shopper's Bazaar and using an upright wheel, by the time of the pilot seen here with Ed Byrnes from 77 Sunset Strip, it looked and played more-or-less like the show most people are familiar with today. Creator Merv Griffith wasn't happy with how Byrnes was drunk throughout the pilot filming and ended up using Shopper's Bazaar host Chuck Woolery instead. 

Fortune debuted on NBC January 6th, 1975, with Woolery hosting and Susan Stafford turning letters. Alas, between NBC and Griffith reusing tapes into the 1980's, very little of his version exists today. This episode from 1976 is one of the earliest in existence and gives us a good idea of how the show worked in the mid-late 70's. It's played pretty much the same as today, with people spinning a wheel and earning money after calling out letters that appear on a board. If they have enough money, they can buy a vowel. The contestant who figures out the phrase or name and wins the round can shop for prizes with their money between rounds.

Wheel was never a massive hit in daytime, but it had enough fans to narrowly avoid Fred Silverman eliminating most of NBC's games in 1980 to focus on The David Letterman Show. Former weather man Pat Sajak replacing Woolery in 1981 bumped up ratings enough for Griffith to try it in nighttime. That finally put it over. The nightly syndicated show with Sajak and Vanna White began in 1984 and was such a sensation, it continues in syndication to this day. 

Sajak would be replaced in daytime briefly by Rolf Benirschke around 1989, which is also when NBC finally dropped the show. CBS picked it up, but it only lasted there about a year and a half before moving back to NBC for the final eight months of its run. Bob Goen hosted the last season at NBC.

My family loved Wheel of Fortune. We would watch Wheel and Jeopardy together after dinner in the 80's and early 90's, one of the few things we did as a family. In college, I would switch back and forth between Jeopardy and Hollywood Squares, then stay with Wheel after they ended. The regular 90's nighttime episode I have here is one that I might have watched in college while doing schoolwork or having a quick bite to eat.

Wheel was so popular, at one time, there was a children' version. Wheel 2000 debuted on CBS in 1997. It was Wheel crossed with Double Dare. Here, the dreaded bankrupt became "The Creature," with a lot of sound and special effects representing a monster that gobbled up the kids' points. "Lose a Turn" was "Loser." They could land on a wedge that would allow them to play a stunt or answer a question before they asked for a letter. "Lucy," a computer animated hostess, cheered them on. Considering how much my sisters and I loved Wheel as kids, this wasn't a bad idea, but the additional stunts and questions slowed down gameplay, the set looked cheap and has dated badly, and Lucy was more annoying than funny. No wonder it only lasted six months. (Supposedly, there's another kids' version in development. Hopefully, this one sticks closer to the adult version.) 

There's been several changes to Wheel's gameplay over the years. The shopping segments were dropped in syndication around 1987 (though they apparently continued in the daytime until 1989). Griffin replaced them with prizes that now could be won if you hit them on the Wheel and didn't land on Bankrupt before the end of the round. One of the prizes that could be won was a $10,000 space, later replaced by a million-dollar space early in the 2010's. 

There wasn't an actual bonus round until late 1981. Originally, the contestants could choose the five letters and one vowel and chose the prize they wanted before they began. By 1988, they'd started providing the five most common letters and vowel and letting the contestant choose four more. From 1989 to 2001, the prize was chosen from one of five envelopes marked WHEEL. After 2001,  contestants choose their prize from a wheel. 

Sajak and White were the two constants on the nighttime show. They were so associated with the show, they hosted the hour-long prime-time celebrity version that began in 2021. Sajak finally retired last June, to be replaced in the fall by Ryan Seacrest. I have Sajak's last episode here, complete with his heartfelt farewell to the show whose wheel he kept turning for over 40 years. 

Celebrate 50 years of Wheels and prizes with these classic episodes!

Wheel of Fortune Pilot #1 (1974)

Wheel of Fortune (1976)

Wheel of Fortune (1981)

Wheel of Fortune Syndicated Premiere (1983)

Wheel of Fortune CBS Series Finale (1991)

Wheel 2000 (1997)

Wheel of Fortune Syndicated (1999)

Wheel of Fortune Syndicated (2024)