Quiet Day Games

Began my morning with breakfast and Three for the Show. I go further into Betty Grable's last film musical, about a Broadway star who finds herself unable to decide between two husbands, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Three for the Show

Looked over paperwork on investments PNC sent me after the movie ended, then tried to focus on writing The Wizard of Blank. Joyce wonders how Charles the Scarecrow ended up on a pole. He can't remember. It's as if part of his brain was removed or erased. 

Broke for lunch and Match Game '77, then made my grocery list and headed off to work. My first day back at work was mostly really boring. We were dead almost the entire afternoon. It's the middle of the week, the end of the month, and a beautiful sunny day to boot. 

I did help someone out mid-way through my shift. A woman in an electric scooter cart drove up to my line very upset and crying. She'd been trying to get one of my co-workers to help her find something. Apparently, she asked five times, and that got on the woman's nerves and she finally told her to get it herself. The lady had bad hips and wasn't up to it. I can understand being annoyed, but even if she was, she should have helped the lady no matter how many times she asked. I put off my break to calm the woman down and help get her groceries out to her car.

Had a little grocery shopping to do after work. I badly needed to restock yogurt. Bought two packs of low-sugar Choboni and two seasonal flavors of Dannon Light & Fit. The Candy Snaps grapes are still $1.99. Picked up the Acme's generic coconut milk, which is the cheapest brand they have. They had the regular Mountain Dew Voo Dew in, along with two unusual Coke flavors. I went with the Fanta Mystery Flavor, which was black this time for Halloween. (It was Diet Blackberry, by the way. Not bad. Tart and just enough sweet.) They also had something called Y3000, but not in zero versions.

Went straight home after that and into dinner and Match Game '76. Debralee Scott made her debut on the show here. We also have Scoey Mitchilll admiring a plump comely contestant, and surprisingly matching a bad answer on another contestant.

Match Game Syndicated is up to the week with Jon "Bowser" Bauman, Patty Duke, and Charlene Tilton of Dallas. Brett joked about Bill Daily next to Charlene drooling over her in low-cut green dress she wore in the first episode. Jon Bauman let the contestant play a tune on his toy piano. In the next episode, Gene mentioned spending 90 cents on meals at the automat during his young and wild years as a page at NBC in New York in the late 30's. 

Finished the night on YouTube after a shower with beloved game shows of the 1990's. The genre began the decade with several big shows and a couple of major revivals on the networks. Not even well-received versions of Match Game and To Tell the Truth lasted more than a year. (Match Game was the last daytime game show on ABC to date.) Game shows were considered passe, thanks to the rise of cheaper and more sensational talk shows. The word game Caesar's Challenge would be the last daytime game show on NBC in 1993. 

The situation was different on cable. They needed filler, and what better to fill up time with than game shows? Lifetime's revival of the 60's hit Supermarket Sweep swept its time slot and became one of the biggest successes of the decade. Energetic David Ruprecht of the colorful sweaters and ties asked questions about products in a grocery store to add time to a team's score. Each team ran the Big Sweep through the store at the end. The team with the highest Big Sweep score went on to figure out riddles in the Bonus Round and win $5,000. It remains one of the most popular game shows of the 90's and is still as much fun to watch now as it was 30 years ago.

No cable channel got more into game shows than Nickelodeon. The success of Double Dare in the late 80's inspired more wacky stunt-and-questions games. Nick Arcade also played on the revival of video games in the early 90's and the enormous popularity of Nintendo and Sega in the era. Kids direct a character named Mikey across themed boards. When they land on a space, they either played a real-life video game in the "video challenge," lost their space to an animated enemy, or did a "Time Bomb" spelling game when both teams landed on the same space. The winners went on to the "Video Zone," where they played video game "stunts." Goofy Phil Moore was the host.

Nickelodeon wasn't the only channel who got into the kids' games. PBS had their first successful national game show with Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego? in the early 90's. Three "Acme Crime-Stoppers" join hosts Greg Lee and Lynn "The Chief" Thigpen to follow one of Carmen Sandiego's bizarre hench-people as they flee across the globe with some very strange loot. In the episode I chose from near the end of the show's run, Robo-Crook somehow manages to steal the Milky Way Galaxy. 

Game shows also continued to be popular on syndication. Even with the end of the Prime Access Rule in 1996, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! continued to bring in big ratings. Other game show franchises tried their luck in syndication, with little success. The Price Is Right had its third and final attempt at a nighttime syndicated show in 1994. Doug Davidson of The Young and the Restless hosted this half-hour version, which ended with one contestant playing The Range Game to win a Showcase package. While this version never did find an audience, the larger set and some music cues were later used on the daytime show and nighttime specials.

One the biggest hits among cable game shows was Win Ben Stein's Money on Comedy Central. The premise here was simple - stump deadpan comedian Stein and win his loot. It wasn't as easy as it sounded. As goofy as the show could be, the questions were genuinely challenging, and Jimmy Kimmel in one of his earliest appearances was clearly having a ball. This wound up being a six-year-smash and remains popular among comedy and game show fans to this day.

Game shows finally roared back in a big way on ABC with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. It was already a sensation in England, and it became even more so in the US. The tension built as contestants answer increasingly difficult questions for more and more money. Several "lifelines," like calling a friend or asking for the audience's opinion, helped contestants with especially challenging questions. Unlike the quiz shows of the 50's, rapid-fire editing and space-age neon sets helped ratchet up the tension naturally. The US version was so beloved, ABC eventually expanded it to five nights a week by 2000. Regis Philbin became in demand as the host, especially with his catchphrase "is that your final answer?"

Discover the many changes among game shows in the 90's with these bits of TV history! (Look for the original commercials on Caesar's Challenge and the commercial from its current run on Game Show Network on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.) 

To Tell the Truth (1990)

Match Game (1991)

Nick Arcade (1992)

Caesar's Challenge (1993)

Supermarket Sweep (1993)

The Price Is Right Syndicated (1994)

Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego (1995)

Win Ben Stein's Money (1997)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1999)

September In the Rain

Got a very quick start this morning with breakfast and The Desert Song. Reading and listening to the Amelia Peabody series put me in the mood for more desert melodrama. I had just enough time for the first half of the CD with Wilbur Evans as the Red Shadow, the masked leader of the Riffs in the Sahara, and Kitty Carlisle as his love Margot. My favorite song is her charming "Romance," as she wishes for more of it in her life, and their "Then You Will Know." "One Alone" and "The Saber Song" also sound good here.

I got a later start than planned. It was pouring when I awoke this morning, but despite the rain having slowed to a drizzle by quarter of 11, I still called Uber. I was working late and wasn't sure what the weather would be like later. Though they said he'd be here in 4 minutes, I think he was slightly late.  I barely got to work on time.

Work was a pain in the rear. We were busy for a lot of the afternoon, with little help after about 2:30. The rain vanished for most of the day, and the Eagles played their first game of the day at 4:25 PM. Two women bought $300...only to put half of it away when one said she had to spend under $200. Lady, a cart full of meat, frozen dinners, and junk food is not going to cost under $200. And then the lady kept coming back and saying she'd get them again, only to change her mind. It took me forever to get on break because of them, and they held up a very nice older woman who thought they behaved badly, too. And by the end of the night, I was the only cashier left. Needless to say, I was happy to get off after that.

(The Eagles had a somewhat easier time with their day than I did. While NFL.com later said their offense had many problems, they played well enough to beat the Patriots 25-20.)

Contacted Uber after I finished...and then contacted them again when the first person cancelled. The pleasant lady finally arrived in 10 minutes. Dark clouds gathered on the horizon, but at that point, it was breezy, humid, and cool, much cooler than it has been. As the driver pointed out, it was a really nice night. She had the windows open all the way to Oaklyn, and it felt great.

I ate dinner at work, so I was able to go straight into the shower when I got home. Finished off the night after I got out with the Match Game Sunday Classics marathon on YouTube. Feisty young sitcom actress Debralee Scott was in the spotlight tonight. Deb made her first appearance in 1977, joining Scoey Mitchelll and Joyce Bulifant. She would return many times over the years, including later that year. She so charmed country star Bill Anderson, he wrote an adorable song for her. Charles and Brett, dressed as cowpokes, joined in. 

Most of Deb's memorable appearances were in syndication. She was there that week in 1979 where Bob Barker fussed at Gene Rayburn because he covered a copy girl's slit skirt he'd been ogling. Marcia Wallace found Gene's voice so soothing, she fell asleep on his arm while he read a question!

Bart Braverman seemed to think she was cute. He spent a week during syndication in 1980 throwing cards at her back. Deb did not think he was cute. She went up to attack him, pounding at him before he grabbed her for a kiss! Fred Travelena and McLean Stevenson joined in for an especially offensive PM episode with a question joking about Asians that has caused this episode to be banned from the airwaves now. Debralee mostly went back and forth between the fourth and sixth seat, doing equally well at both. She even got two big $10,000 and $20,000 questions in later syndicated episodes. 

Watch Debralee flirt and fight with panelists and contestants alike in this wild marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Debralee Scott on Panel

(Oh, and I got lucky with the weather for the second day in a row. The rain that had been building on my way home didn't burst until around 9:30, by which time I was long online and chatting with Lauren and the people at the YouTube Match Game chat. It was a couple of really big storms, too, with rain pounding hard on the roof and lashing winds.)

Racing Harts

Started off the morning with breakfast and more new Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Daniel wants to borrow an apron for show and tell, but O the Owl wants to use it for playing restaurant. Teacher Harriett reminds the boys that "Taking Turns at Show and Tell" is important, and Daniel can use it later. The kids all have to remember this when they fight over who goes first. They all learn about "Taking Turns at the Pool" when they both want to blow bubbles and have to share the wand, and then Katerina has to wait for a noodle to be available. 

Switched to Thunder Alley after that. I go further into the second car racing musical from American International, this time featuring Fabian and Annette Funicello, at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Thunder Alley (1967)

Worked on writing while the movie was on. Joyce is reluctant to walk on the Golden Road at first. She doesn't want Ira the Wicked Warlock of the West after her. Patti, however, reminds her that she has to get the Wizard's help, and the witches can't help her. Joyce knows the story and has suspicions about how helpful the "Wizard" is going to be, but she goes down the road anyway.

Finished out the new Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood episodes during lunch. "Daniel and Max Ask to Play" when Daniel asks to play ball with Jodi and Katerina and Max joins Dan and Prince Wednesday to make caves with rocks. "Daniel Plays at the Music Shop" when his father goes to buy sheet music. He, Katerina, O, and Elaina end up making their own little band.

Headed out after the cartoon ended. Almost exactly the same deal as yesterday. We were dead the entire afternoon except around rush hour, when everyone picked up dinner after work and we had less help. I did have to dissuade two twenty-somethings from leaving plastic bottles of mineral water they didn't want in a cart where the security guard would stumble over it. They probably did something annoying and she scolded them. She's just doing her job. I took the water and told them to take the cart outside. Otherwise, no trouble, and I was in and out. 

Went straight home and into dinner and Match Game '79. Gene notes Fannie borrowed Gene's tie in the opening. (And I'm inclined to agree with Brett that it looked better on Fannie.) Brett has less luck helping in the Head-to-Head with "__ Japan."

Finished the night on Tubi with Hart to Hart while I worked on the Thunder Alley review. During a card game with baseball greats (including Tommy Lasorda), Johnathan receives an invitation to the wedding of his old girfriend Nikki (Christine Belford) to a business rival, Alex Constantine (Richard Johnson). Turns out Nikki's former fiancee sent them the invitation. Nikki's being forced into the wedding when Constantine claims her brother hit two women while driving drunk. After Nikki's fiancee is kidnapped, the Harts try to learn more about the surviving woman and keep Nikki from saying "With This Gun, I Thee Wed."  

Rediscovered Matches

Started off the morning with breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. "Line Leader Daniel" wants that job more than any of the others at school. He's disappointed when he's assigned to give out lunches instead, until he realizes how important it is when he forgets and the kids have no lunch. Dan and his mother learn more about "Neighborhood Jobs" when they take over for X the Owl at the library while he's sick.

Headed off to work after that. Boy, do I wish I hadn't. We were busy all day, from when I came in until right before I left. Everything is just going wrong. I kept causing trouble and making mistakes and panicking. One man's cards didn't work, and he ended up putting back his order. Another threw a fit because I didn't put the receipts with his gift cards. And of course, ten minutes before I left, my register suddenly slowed to a crawl. Ringing items worked fine, but the cards took forever to go through, and it wouldn't print. And that meant I was late getting to the manager to check my register.

Rushed home quickly as I could after that. I had dinner while watching Vivo on Amazon Prime. I go further into this charming animated film about a kinkajou who wants to bring a song by his late master to the woman he once loved at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On Streaming - Vivo

Tonight's Match Game Classics marathon was an encore presentation of the lost Valerie Bertanelli week with not only the missing episodes that surrounded it, but the existing episodes before and after them, too. Honestly, the show was on a roll, getting its groove back after Richard Dawson bowed out. I feel sorry for Valerie. She didn't play badly at all, but she was very uncomfortable between dirty old men Gene Rayburn and Ed Asner. Frankly, she played better than Ed (who wasn't invited back after this week) and Patty Duke (who was out of it the entire week). 

Valerie's nighttime episode and the ones bookending it remain lost at the moment, but the one for the week of Jack Klugman and Brett Somers' "wedding" exists. Jack and Brett are a little more subdued here, though Jack does get a crack at Brett at one point. Bill Anderson is more nervous about dealing with "__ Broken" in the Head-to-Head.

Finally get to see the full story and all the history surrounding these lost episodes in this history-filled marathon!

Match Game Classics: Featuring the Lost Valerie Bertanelli Episodes

Summertime Angels

Started out the morning with breakfast and Hello Kitty Furry Tale Theater on The Roku Channel. "Hello Mother Goose" is on the case when the most famous items in nursery rhymes goes missing. She has to catch the culprit, who may no be a culprit at all. You can't get much more 80's than "Crocodile Penguin." Tuexdo Sam plays the wonder from Down Under who comes to New York City to fight Hulk Alligator (Grinder). 

Worked on writing for a while. Joyce likes the shoes, but all she really wants to do is go home. Patti (and a know-it-all Smuf-kin in glasses) says they don't know where Burbank is, but the all-knowing Wizard of Match might. He lives in Televisia City, at the end of the Golden Road.

Watched Match Game '77 while eating a quick lunch and getting ready for work. Gene (whose only daughter was long-grown by then) was a bit confused by the top answer to "Huey __" in the Audience Match. Scoey Mitchilll and Richard Dawson just wish Elaine Joyce wouldn't take so long to explain why the astronaut picked the wrong time to say something.

Headed to work even before the episode ended. We were off-and-on busy. It's the beginning of the month, and a lot of people just got their government money...and some of them weren't happy about it. I had a hard time explaining about our sales and how our card machines work with one group. I didn't say the right words, and one of the women turned to me and said I didn't do my job and had a bad attitude! I couldn't help getting upset. I genuinely didn't mean to cause trouble. There were the people who didn't have enough money and put back their entire order, and another large order where people were rude. 

I actually got a lot more hours than usual for early August next week, including two 8 1/2 hour bagging shifts. There's a reason for that. The head bagger will be on vacation, and the only other daytime bagger who works on weekdays is a college student who can't do everything. At least I also got three days off. One of those days will be spent seeing the last movie of the summer that interests me, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. The others will be focusing more on resting.

Didn't really need much grocery-wise this week, either. Mainly wanted yogurt; Choboni is on sale this week. Was out of popcorn, too. Treated myself to a giant chocolate chip cookie slice "stacked" together with icing for dessert.

Went straight home and into Match Game '74. Gene comes up through his entrance after appearing to have swum to work. Robert Morse has more trouble later when he accidentally gives away his answer, forcing a new question to be substituted. 

For some reason, Match Game '79 jumped back to mid-way through the year. We learn the secret of Foster Brooks' drunk act (hint - he wasn't sloshed) while Betty White helps with "__ Circuit" on the Head-to-Head. Gene's way of helping a nervous contestant in the next episode involves rubbing her shoulders in a way that would probably get him into trouble nowadays.

Finished the night at Tubi with Charlie's Angels. It's "Game, Set, Death" in the second season when women tennis players are scared away from a very important tour with a lot of money riding on it. Kris joins the tour as a player to get the inside scoop, while Sabrina and Kelly are a tennis clothes designer and her model. Bosley's supposed to be helping on the tennis grounds, but he's more interested in a woman who definitely wants to flirt with him. 

(Oh, and Password Plus with Tom Kennedy wound up being the winner of Buzzr's Pick & Play summer marathons. They have a lot of terrific marathons coming up in the next 5 months, too. Among those I saw advertised were Bob Barker's 100th birthday, the 40th anniversary of Press Your Luck, and the return of "Bob-tober" with Bob Eubanks, the Halloween Thrills & Chills marathon, the Family Feud Armed Forces week, Black Friday Frenzy, and A Betty White Christmas.)

The Heat Is On

Awoke around 7 to noisy banging. There was a roof being repaired. Tried to ignore it for two hours, then gave up around 9 and had breakfast. Watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I ate. This is probably the last series you'd expect to have an Indiana Jones spoof, but they actually did two during the fourth season. I went with the first, "Quest for the Crystal Mickey." Kansas City Mickey and his friends have to rescue the title crystal statue from Bungling Pete and return it to the clubhouse before their beloved home disappears for good.

The banging got louder...and I got more and more annoyed. I finally gave up any ideas of getting any work done, packed my uniform, and headed out early. Had lunch at a much quieter Common Grounds Coffee House instead. Ordered a very sweet "Manor Mixer" - fruit juice and coconut milk - with slices of asparagus quiche and blueberry lemon loaf bread.

Work was mostly quiet. Most people are likely on vacation or are recovering from the 4th, and it was a sunny, breezy day, hot and humid day. There were some really obnoxious or annoying customers, including one older man who ranted for almost ten minutes about why he didn't want to buy more bags and why they shouldn't have been making people buy bags and how horrible it was that they took plastic bags away from people. 

I am so tired of hearing about that subject. First of all, the New Jersey government announced more than three years ago that they intended to ban bags, but put it off due to the Pandemic. Second, people are making mountains out of mole hills. If you don't want to buy more bags, don't buy more bags. Pack your items in the car. I think a lot of people forgot that the plastic bags weren't much better. They were too small, ripped too easily, and often got clingy and wouldn't open. Yes, you could use them to pick up after your pooch or as a small trash bag, but they were still just as likely to end up in a landfill. It's not my fault people keep leaving them in their cars. Thankfully, it was so dead by 6 PM, I was able to shut down and put away some cold items with no one the wiser. 

Went straight home after work. Watched Match Game '74 as I changed and got organized. Gene spent most of the episode ogling Louisa Moritz and her tight halter top. It was Betty White, though, who came up with the best answer as to what you get when you pour a lot of coins into one of those vibrating beds. Gene's also wondering why Richard has a beard. (In real life, it was apparently for a role that never materialized.)

Had dinner during Match Game '79. Barbara Rhodes discusses the show she was supposed to appear on called Mr. Dooley...which later became Mr. Dugan before it was yanked from the schedule and never did air. Bart Braveman has more luck with "__ of Salt" in the Head-to-Head.

Finished the night on YouTube with Delicious. I go further into the third Janet Gaynor-Charles Farrell musical romance with Gershwin songs at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Delicious (1931)

Fifty Years of Matches

Overlslept this morning! I had just enough time for reading Johnny Tremain, writing, eating breakfast, and hurrying off. At least I dashed into a sunny day. It remains smoky, hot, and killer humid, but a stiff breeze does help a bit. 

Work was busy almost the entire day. It's the beginning of the month, two days before the biggest holiday of the summer, and Sundays tend to be crazy even when there's nothing going on. It's the only day a lot of people can shop. Most people were in decent moods, probably due to the holiday, but we had the usual people who couldn't pay for a quarter of what was in their carts and had trouble with their cards. I was just glad when it slowed down enough by 6:30 for me to rush out with no relief. 

(Oh, and it looked like it may have rained earlier in the afternoon. There were a few puddles left in the parking lot, but everything else was dry. It just started storming again about an hour ago.)

Hurried straight home, changed, had a late dinner, and spent the rest of the night watching the next Match Game 50th Anniversary marathon. It kicked off with Richard taking notes on two pretty contestants and Charles handing one a card for his "acting agency." In the next one, Ann Elder shows off her neat sequined star shirt, Bert Convy nearly runs off with the contestant, and head boss Mark Goodson shows up to give Gene a needlepoint bag in honor of Match Game being the top show in daytime. 

There was the second episode where Gene climbed on top of the audience to get to a camera. McLean Stevenson chased Gene around the studio after starting off the show in the contestant's seat in mid-1974. Carolyn was the last major winner on Match Game in 1979; she went home with over $30,000, thanks to Brett. One poor contestant got so nervous on a PM episode, she forgot her husband's name. Gene and the others helped ease her into things. 

McLean and Charles hosted the show on two separate occasions in the Syndicated episodes. In 1976, country singer Bill Anderson performed a song for Debralee Scott on his guitar. Brett and Charles joined him dressed as cowpokes. One of the best early Syndicated episodes had Joyce turn up in a bright orange fright wig and declare herself to be "the new kid on the block," while a nice contestant named Ginger gives an extremely peculiar answer to what a jock centipede needs for his feet.

This one ended with my favorite syndicated episode. Betty White turns up in the very beginning sporting a flaming scarlet minidress that showed off every bit of her still-excellent legs. After McLean gives his answer as to what type of wrestling a farmer thought should be an Olympic event, Sharon Farrell and Richard Paul end up on the floor to demonstrate the answer. There's also the contestant who shows up near the end claiming that he laughs his kids awake...but his shriek is more likely to give them nightmares than sweet dreams!

Oh, and today is the actual 50th anniversary of the day Match Game debuted. I didn't get to see it, but MGP repeated the first episode at 3:30, as it would have been seen in 1973. Here's the link to that, the marathon, and an interview with Sharon Farrell, so you can celebrate the start of one of the most beloved game show franchises ever, too!

Match Game 50 Year Celebration Countdown - Top Episodes (30 - 16)

Match Game '73 Premiere Episode

Sharon Farrell Interview - Panelist on Match Game

Here Comes that Rainy Day Feeling Again

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Minnie's Bow-toons. Minnie's trying to figure out a new design for her spring bow line. "Figaro's Friend" gives her the perfect inspiration. She, the twins, and Cukoo-Loca hold a birthday party for Daisy. When the lights go out, they have to figure out how to illuminate "A Shop In the Dark" and let the festivities go on. 

Rushed out soon as the episode ended. I emerged into blinding sunshine and a few fleecy clouds. Though it remained humid, it wasn't doing anything else at that point. Nor did it look like it had for hours. I figured I'd be fine riding to work. I did bring my rain coat, just in case.

Work was off-and-on busy. I think a lot of people may have gone down to the Shore once they figured out it wasn't going to rain for the entire weekend. There weren't really any major problems...until my last customer, of course. It was a very old woman who did everything super slow. She took one item out at a time, and took forever to do that. She claimed her son was around to help her. If he was, he didn't appear while I was there. I had to load the food into the woman's cart...and then she threw a fit when the money on her food stamp card didn't cover everything she had in her cart. I tried my hardest to explain, but she just wouldn't listen. 

It was so late by that time, I called a manager to handle her and the woman behind her. Oh, and the managers told me at the very last minute I had no relief. I wish they'd tell you these things instead of assuming you know what's going on. 

I was so frustrated when I got out of work, and the weather didn't help. Dark clouds gathered quickly on the horizon. I rode fast as I could,  hoping to get home before the storm hit. I made it half-way down Kendall Boulevard when not only the rain came down in torrents, but hail, too, and crazy wind and thunder. Tried to take shelter under the trees, but they were too small. 

It finally slowed down enough for me to hide under an awning on West Clinton. There were a group of ten to twelve-year-old boys on bikes across the street, hiding under the overhanging roof of Common Ground Coffee House. I got so tired of listening to them curse at each other after a few minutes, I decided dealing with the rain was better than listening to them. I think I made the right choice. The low street between hills under the train bridge was already starting to flood. I turned down Newton to dodge the onslaught. Finally got home ten minutes later soaking wet.

(Incidentally, the storm didn't pass until more than an hour and a half after I finally got home. The sun came out again around 7 PM, and it hasn't rained since.)

Spent the next few hours listening to records. Flahooley is one of the strangest stage musicals ever created. Sylvester, the creator of the laughing Flahooley doll, wants to sell many dolls and marry his sweetheart Sandy (Barbara Cook, in her debut). After another company undercuts the one he works for and sells cheaper dolls, he wishes on a magic lamp that every child should have a Flahooley doll. Unfortunately, the genie misunderstands and gives them away for free, undercutting the economy. When a mob tries to destroy the dolls, they nearly kill the genie, too. 

Ohhhhkay. Yeah, you can see the problems here. Writer, producer and lyricist E.Y Harburg got burned by the early 50's Hollywood blacklist and wanted to parody that here, but frankly, the songs don't have much to do with anything. Trilling Peruvian singer Yma Sumac sings three songs that sound exotic but otherwise are out of place. Cook has a lovely ballad, "He's Only Wonderful," and shares a charming duet with Jerome Courtland, "Here's To Your Illusions." Otherwise, most of the satire was diluted before opening, and the chorus numbers are dully and silly. This is only for the biggest fans of Harburg, Cook, or 50's musicals.

Switched to Jack and the Beanstalk during dinner. This is one of my Peter Pan book and records that I hadn't gotten to yet. Jack sells his cow Milky White for magic beans. His mother is upset that they now have no cow and no money, so she throws the beans out the window. They grow into a beanstalk that reaches the sky. Jack discovers a giant's castle among the clouds. He'd love to bring home the giant's golden egg-laying hen and his bag of coins...if he can dodge the boy-eating ogre! 

Basic version of the story enlivened by several charming songs. Jack and his mother sing a number about them not needing anyone besides each other in the opening. The Giant gets "I Want Boy!" and "Fee Fi Fo Fum," while his annoyed wife booms "I'm Tired!" I'd love to find more of these Peter Pan fairy tale LPs, and maybe some of their Looney Tunes stories, too. The songs are charming and the performances aren't bad.

Finished the night on YouTube with the Match Game Sunday Night Classics Marathon. This time, crotchety character actress Mary Wickes was in the spotlight. She may actually be one of the best-known stars on the show. She'd been playing reliable secretaries, tough mothers, and tart-tongued maids and housekeepers on film and TV since the 1940's, and would continue to do so well into the 90's. In fact, most people today probably know her as the housekeeper from White Christmas or the older nun who originally led the choir in the Sister Act movies before Whoopi Goldberg took over. 

Mary began on Match Game in 1976 and became one of it's most popular semi-regulars. She shown in both the fourth and the sixth seat, never failing to come up with a crusty quip or great line. She got one of the best lines in the entire series when the brand-new, much-touted Star Wheel landed on Richard Dawson its first time out in 1978...when it had been designed to give other stars besides Richard a chance to play. "Do you know how much that thing cost?" She complained to Gene as most of the panel walked out. "And it's right back to Richard!" She also got a great crack at one of Gene's infamous plaid jackets around the same time. "Somewhere a horse is mighty chilly."

Mary missed Hollywood Squares Hour, but she returned to Match Game for a week in 1991. By that point, she was appearing as a regular on The Father Dowling Mysteries and was just about to make the first Sister Act film. She was as spry as she ever was, and just as quick-witted. 

Join one of the coolest older ladies around on this merry marathon!

Match Game Sunday Classics: Best of Mary Wickes 

It's a Mystery to Me

Began a gloomy, humid morning with breakfast and The New Scooby Doo Mysteries. These episodes from 1984 stick with Daphne, Shaggy, and the dogs, but have them solving actual cases. The first episode, "Scooby's Peep-Hole Pandemonium," has them assigned to photograph reclusive horror legend Norma Deathman. She hasn't been seen since 1933, and she always wears a veil. The crew disguise themselves as caterers to get the shot. While they do run across a man in a mask, Norma herself isn't what she seems, either. They encounter "The Hand of Horror" at an old mansion being used as a test site for a robotic hand. Someone's manipulating the hand to scare off the creators. For once, Scrappy turns out to be the most useful when he's the one who figures out what's going on first.

Worked on writing for a while after I ate. Charles turns up in the hall, having heard Ira's protests about his lunch. He sensibly points out that the dog will need a bath if he's going to stay, and real food that isn't their producer's lunch, and a flea collar. Joyce admires his intelligence, but he says he has a dog, and this is just common sense.

(And...I think I'm going to start this over tomorrow. I want to get to Oz sooner. This is starting to bore me. I think I'll begin with Joyce in the shed being thrown around and her admitting how much the characters in Oz look like her friends, instead of all the talking in the studio.)

Broke for lunch and Match Game '77. Bob Barker joins in here, and he and Gene discuss Match Game moving to after The Price Is Right. (Which...didn't work out at all, from what I've heard. The audience was mainly kids who watched after school.) Eva Gabor was on a roll in this episode. She got one answer, even though she couldn't spell it, and another the upper tier missed. Joyce Bulifant also did unusually well. 

It wasn't raining at 12:30, but it was still humid, cool, and very damp. I didn't want to take chances after riding home in the rain the other day. I called Uber. At least they were prompt. The man picking me up took five minutes, and got me there in a little over five minutes, due to taking a longer way. 

I arrived early enough to get my schedule before I started. Not too bad. Pretty similar to this week, actually, with earlier hours Sunday and Thursday. Monday and Friday off, the former for getting my tooth pulled. I work late enough on Saturday for me to hit the farm market. 

Work was, as it has been all week, a pain in the rear. People who now have kids stuck inside for the weekends and parties and barbecues that had to be moved or curtailed were buying huge orders. We had long lines and not enough help, and I just got frustrated and overwhelmed. 

My last customer tried to get me to use her Rewards program number for the woman in front of her. First of all, those are private. They're for the person who uses them and their family only and are tailored to them.  Second, the older woman said she wasn't interested. Third, I was literally finishing as the lady came in. I turned off my light for a reason. All her fussing and my trying to explain things to her almost made me late getting out. 

It apparently rained heavily in the afternoon, but by 7. the rain had taken at temporary leave of absence. No wonder I got an Uber driver in less than three minutes. There was no traffic, and we arrived in less than five.

Went straight upstairs and into dinner when I got home. Watched Match Game '79 as I ate. We open with Fannie Flagg showing off Gene's red striped tie that went quite nicely with her scarlet sweater. As Brett pointed out, it probably looked better on Fannie. Everyone else did their best with "__ Plugs" in the Audience Match. 

Finished the night at YouTube with another game show marathon chat. The Game Show Channel has been doing "Mystery 7" marathons every night, a random selection of shows from his private collection. I arrived in time to see Tom Poston flub the bonus round on Super Password rather badly. We also got a funny What's My Line from 1973 with comedian Pat Cooper as the Mystery Guest, a classic episode of Match Game '74 with Brett Somers showing off her Atlantic City t-shirt that Fannie supposedly got from Paris, a Richard Dawson-hosted Family Feud from 1980 with them celebrating their 1,000th show, and an episode of Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour.

What will you see next? It's a mystery to me! Come figure out what the next show will be in this very funny marathon!

Mystery 7 Marathon #23

Thoroughly Modern Bros

Began the morning with breakfast and the original cast album of Thoroughly Modern Millie. It took me a while to warm up to this stage adaptation of the wacky Roaring 20's-set film, but I really get a kick out of it now. Sutton Foster became a star as the title character, a thoroughly modern flapper who comes to New York in 1922 to marry her boss, only to get caught up in a white slavery ring plot involving the head of her boarding house and her girlish best friend. Of the songs written directly for the show, my favorite is "Forget About the Boy," the number for Millie and the secretaries after Millie thinks Jimmy's cheating on her. 

Worked on writing for a little while after breakfast. Poor Bill Daily's been watching the gold all morning, and he's about to have a nervous breakdown. Richard says he'll relieve him. Brett insists on watching as Fannie opens the safe to reveal the hidden treasure...

Broke for a quick lunch before heading to work. For the most part, we were just as quiet as we've been the rest of the week. It picked up a little during rush-hour, and there were a few problems. I was tired and didn't do a good job explaining something to somebody. He got upset, and then I got upset, and he got angry at me. It was my fault. I didn't explain things well, and I acted like an idiot. The manager and everyone behind him said he shouldn't have yelled at me, but I shouldn't have gotten him upset in the first place. That's not professional.

It helped that the weather remains nice. It continues to be humid, slightly cloudy, and too warm for this time of year. Most people are likely finishing out their spring breaks elsewhere, and we're between holidays. 

Went straight into dinner and an earlier Match Game Classics marathon when I got home. I swear, this set had some of the craziest glitches. In one episode, an orange backdrop came down instead of the board for the Head-to-Head money. In another, the question holder slid out of Gene's reach, and the contestant had to hold it up while Gene read the first question. Gene complained about a nail in the set poking him. His microphone died at one point, leaving him using a much shorter microphone he didn't like. Once during a syndicated episode, Gene explained a long word to Dick Martin for so long, everyone walked off-stage and the lights went out! Gene had to fix Joyce Bulifant's floppy microphone in a PM episode.

Check out even more of the wackiest technical problems to have ever occurred on a game show!

Match Game Sunday Night Classics: Technical Difficulties On-Set?

Finished the night with something really unique on YouTube. A group dubbed one of the Super Mario Adventures comics that used to run as a serial in Nintendo Power Magazine in the mid-1990's. I'm glad they did. Not only are the voices pretty accurate to the characters, but I absolutely love how Peach is portrayed here. Much like in the current film version, she's a strong, take-charge character who will do anything, not only for her kingdom, but for Mario as well. She has no difficulty chasing Bowser after he's turned Mario and half her kingdom to stone, or trading places with Luigi to rescue Mario as part of an elaborate plot. And interestingly, this story also involved Bowser's desire to marry Peach. (Bit surprised no one thought of hypnotizing her in the movie.) 

If you ever wanted to see how tough a mushroom princess could be (or how awkwardly a random salesman can be shoehorned into a plot), check out this hilarious and action packed tale!

Super Mario Adventures Full Comic Dub

Working Harts

Got a quick start this morning! I woke up at 8, closed my eyes for a second...and opened them a half-hour later. I read Wings of the Falcon and wrote in my journal fast! Ironically, I heard from Karen as I was getting dressed. She had to take a long call and would be slightly late. That gave me just enough time for breakfast before she arrived. 

We talked at the Haddon Township Library again. We did apply for a job at a senior center in Philadelphia. On one hand, it's data entry work and sitting down, and it's not retail. On the other hand, the pay isn't any better than it is at the Acme, and I have a hard enough time dealing with the seniors at work. 

I really don't know where to go next. I want out of the Acme because I'm going crazy and it's getting me nowhere...but if I'm going to buy an apartment or condo, I need to make more money. I'm just brainstorming right now. This is one idea. Trying to go back to college is another, but I'm worried about the time involved there. I really want to go back to being on my own and get all my stuff out of storage, but most decent jobs need more education and experience.

Went online briefly to write when I got home. Gene also mentions at this point that every rancher in town is worried about the outlaws. Brett Somers, who runs the Bar K Ranch on her own, is afraid that she may be next in line to lose cattle after the bandits hit her neighbors. We also learn that she's currently boarding the local school teacher, Charles Nelson Reilly, who boards with his students when school is in session.

Broke for a quick lunch and Match Game '75 around noon. Ed Asner appeared on his first week, joined by singer and actress Julie London. Dorothy's still around, too, and gets help from them on "Better __" in the Audience Match.

Had no problems getting Uber going to work. They picked me up in under five minutes. Getting one home was more of a problem. The original one canceled, and the second one took 11 minutes. He really cheered me up going home, though, so much that I tipped him a little extra. 

Work didn't start out badly...but by 2 PM, the lines were down the aisles again. We just don't have enough help. And of course, twenty minutes from when I was supposed to be finished, I had someone with one of the government cards that give us trouble. I asked the head manager why we don't have any books for them. He told me the books for stores and people were eliminated when everything was moved on cards and online. People are supposed to read an app and know what they can and can't buy, and we aren't supposed to have anything to do with it...but each store has different things that can be bought, and not everyone reads the apps or reads them all the way.

And of course, one of my last customers argued that the large bowls of cut up watermelon were on sale when they weren't. I looked at the shelves of cut-up fruit twice and didn't see the sale. She kept insisting it was there. It must have been on another shelf, because she found it later. I never saw it. She was so upset, and it got me upset when I was already frustrated from the line that built up behind the man with the card. Despite everyone saying I had every right to be upset, I behaved badly and was very unprofessional. And because I had two large orders with no relief in a row, I got out ten minutes late.

At least the weather improved. While it remains gale-force windy, it was also sunny and much warmer, a more typical upper 40's. Not a cloud blew across the pale blue sky. 

I went straight upstairs and into leftovers and Match Game '74 when I got home. With the final two episodes of the previous week currently lost, they skipped ahead to the first appearance of Arte Johnson and the only week for Michelle Lee. This was also the last week before Charles Nelson Reilly left to direct a play on Broadway, and there were quite a few jokes about him, including his wearing a flowered bucket hat to cover his lack of toupee. 

Since Buzzr's still re-running the same episodes at the 7 PM hour that they did last week, I watched Hart to Hart. Prostitutes call on Jennifer, who did an article on prostitution in LA, to help them find out who killed one of them. The police aren't that interested in the case and don't want Jennifer and Johnathan meddling...but they learn it's a "Cop Out" when a vice squad officer is getting a little too close to his work.

Finished the night on Shout Factory TV with some much-needed Mystery Science Theater 3000. This is one of Joel's better early episodes. The Phantom Creeps is the first episode of a serial with Bela Lugosi playing a scientist who intends to become a dictator when his wife dies and his ideas are ignored. Jungle Goddess is a campy adventure with Steve Reeves as one of two hunters who find the white woman of the title (Wanda McKay) being worshipped by natives. He wants to escape with her, but his partner accidentally shot one of the natives, and they want retribution. Dated colonial references and stereotypes abound here. The kitsch value and future Superman Reeves' earnest performance actually gives this one a bit of a lift. And yes, jungle jokes and Superman references abound from the robots here. 

Trouble In the Rain

Got a late start with breakfast and Match Game '75. William Shatner and Broadway star Julie Harris join in  with some interesting answers to what Optimistic Oliver says when he accidentally cuts off his finger in the kitchen. There's also some of the answers for "Rick __" on the Audience Match, and Richard Dawson giving a young man who said he was a missionary for "family values," despite not having children himself, a hard time. 

Worked on writing for a while after that. Richard climbs on his mare, then asks Betty where Governor Goodson is and why he hasn't done more for the town. Betty says his main interest is his railroad; he wants land for his own holdings and for the train, but the townspeople won't leave. She also warns that Ira and Goodson are powerful men, whom even her husband is trying to work around. Richard claims he has no desire to cross them, but Betty doesn't see that gleam in his eye...

Had lunch while watching double episodes of Sheriff Callie's Wild West. Peck thinks his mule Clementine grew "Horsefeathers" when feathers seemingly get stuck to her body. He and Toby try to teach her to fly...but it turns out there's a more likely explanation as to where the feathers came from. Peccary miners Dirty Dan and Dusty are "My Brother's Sleeper" when they compete against each other in the town's rolling bed race. They get a little too competitive, trying to bump each other off the road...but when their antics result in Dusty and Toby getting in trouble, Dusty remembers that his brother is more important than any race.

Toby and Peck have even more trouble in "Here Comes the Sun." Spooked by nighttime noises on the prairie and Callie's scary story, they lasso the sun to bring it up earlier. That just makes everything hot and everyone cross when they can't sleep. They try to lasso the moon to cool things off...but the moon is made of cheese and melts! They finally tell Callie, who reminds the duo that you can't fix a mistake with another mistake. The town has "Bug Trouble" when a swarm of critters fly in after Farmer Stinky's rootberries. The townspeople are too busy bickering about the best way to pick a berry to do anything, until Callie insists on them working together.

Headed out to work shortly after the episode ended. I should have left earlier. It took me forever to get an Uber, and when I did get them, they didn't arrive for 11 minutes. Though it didn't take them long to get there once they did pick me up, I was still almost late to work.

Work was a royal pain in the rear. It's the beginning of the month. If people aren't using their government money, they're using government cards that said government hasn't adequately explained. I got stuck in express, too. At one point, I had to read off the numbers on some people's food stamp card, because it was so worn, it wouldn't run through the ATM. I thought I did it right, but it didn't work. I did it four times before they read off the numbers and went through. I was so embarrassed and felt so dumb, and I got them upset, too. 

And I'm furious about my schedule. First of all, that availability paperwork I gave them last week clearly stated I don't want to work past 7. I'm working until 7:30 on Sunday. Second, I have one day off this week - Tuesday, the day I asked off for my dental appointment - and two 8 1/2 hour days. I'm still working on a sore ankle! I wouldn't mind the increased hours if they'd spread things around and given me a second day off. This is ridiculous. At least six people took this week off. No clue why. There's nothing going on right now but March Madness. Our vacation time starts over in May, not April. 

Did grocery shopping after work. Bought Irish soda bread scones and pistachio muffins for work this week. They're having that buy four Nature Valley granola bars, get them for $1.99 sale again, so I grabbed four. (The sale also extends to Fiber One, but they were out of the bars I like there.) The Candy Snaps red grapes were still on sale, too. Picked more blood oranges while they're still in season. Remembered tissues this time...and forgot peanut butter.

Had an easier time picking up Uber going home. This time, despite it being rush hour, it only took me 9 minutes to get one. One of my customers mentioned earlier that it had started raining. It showered very lightly when I got out, but the streets were wet. The rain didn't pick up again until well after I'd gotten home. It's poured off and on ever since. 

Went into dinner and Match Game Syndicated when I got home. Arrived in time to hear Bob Barker, Charlene Tilton, and Richard Deacon join in for "__ at Home" in the Audience Match. The others aren't overly thrilled with how Gene and Bob keep coddling Charlene, and it carries over to the next episode. Betty White gets a little tied up in the next episode, while the others help the contestant with "Tramp __."

Finished the night on YouTube with The Vigilantes are Coming, one of Republic Pictures' first serials in 1936. General Jason Burr (Fred Kohler) and Russian Count Ivan Raspinoff (Robert Warwick) take advantage of the California Gold Rush to attempt to turn it into a Russian colony and make Burr dictator. They kidnap men to work in the gold mines and kill the father and brother of church organist Don Loring (Robert Livingston) to get the gold on their land. Loring poses as "The Eagle," a masked bandit who attacks Burr and his men. He has help from the local ranchers, including his friends Salvation (Guinn "Big Boy" Williams) and Whipsaw (Raymond Hatton). 

The Russian angle makes this somewhat unique among masked western do-gooders. Livingston is a rather dull Eagle; his buddies and their antics are a lot more fun, and Warwick and Kohler make great hissable villains. 

The Eagles Smash the Giants

Got a quicker start than I planned this morning after I overslept! Had just enough time for breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Daniel's ready to enjoy "A Snowy Day" with Miss Elainia. They want to go on an astronaut mission in the snow, but Dan learns to wear the right equipment when the cardboard helmet he wears isn't warm enough. Katerina wants it to be "Tutu All the Time" at school, until she spills paint on it while doing art and can't get it through the entrance to Daniel and Prince Wednesday's bear cave.

Headed off to work even before the episode ended and barely got there in time. We weren't busy when I got in. I spent the first hour and a half doing returns. It picked up around 12:30 and stayed busy for the rest of the day. I'm still having trouble with people who can't figure out those new government benefit cards. One lady threw a fit because it didn't cover her whole order and she didn't bring enough money for the rest. I wish the government had explained that card better! At least it slowed down enough by 5 for me to shut down without a relief. 

Went straight into writing when I got home. They pull into the stables as the Nutcracker helps Debralee out of the sleigh. Gene and Betty are greeted by Betty and the King's majordomo, who reminds Gene that he's so far failed to aid the Princess. Gene insists that they brought the man who can save her.

There was a package waiting for me when I got home. I ordered one last late Christmas gift for myself. I found a set online with the Alice Faye comedies Hollywood Cavalcade and The Great American Broadcast on silent film and radio history and the musicals Down Argentine Way, That Night In Rio, Greenwich Village, and The Gang's All Here. I already have the last-named, but I've wanted to pick up the others forever.

Broke at 6:30 for dinner and The Secret of Mulan on Tubi. I go further into this late 90's direct-to-video animated movie "inspired" by the Disney Mulan at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Honoring Chinese New Year - The Secret of Mulan

Finished the night online after a shower with the Eagles-Giants game. Now this is more like it. The Eagles dominated the game full-stop. They were up 21-0 by half-time. The Giants couldn't get anywhere near them. While they did manage to get a touchdown in the third quarter, the Eagles picked up two more in the fourth to win the game 38-7. 

The Queen of Games

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Charlie & Lola. Lola loves watching her brother work on the tricks from his new magic set. "I am Extremely Magic" she says, and tries her own tricks. What she doesn't realize is those tricks rely on a lot more than waving a wand and saying magic words. Charlie finally shows her how they're really done.

Worked on writing after that. The Queen of the Snowflakes looks a lot like Betty White. She greets Gene as an old friend. He explains that she's the head of the snowflakes, who keeps wintry parts of the world white every year. She also knows about the disappearance of the Sugar Plum Fairy (Brett) and her cavalier (Charles) and has been searching for them.

Went straight to work after I got off. I seriously regret it. Work was nothing short of a royal pain in the rear. At least four people had trouble with that new government benefit card that's supposed to let you buy basic food. Yes...but you have to use your food stamp card before you use the benefit card. Most people use the benefit card first, not giving me the chance to explain that it doesn't work that way. One woman and her husband threw such a fit over it, they called the young manager who tried to talk to them a "little girl." That got her mad and she walked off, leaving me to deal with them. 

I also had trouble with two Instacart customers whose clients didn't give them enough money for their orders. They took so long, they eventually canceled, and all that food had to go back. And they held up long lines. And were just plain off-and-on busy, despite the cold, windy day and the Eagles playing next week. My anxiety was so bad, my stomach is still in knots, even hours later. 

Rushed home fast as I could. Soon as I got in, I changed, grabbed dinner, and watched Match Game Syndicated. Brett's nervous when she has to help the contestant with "__ In-Law" in the Audience Match. Everyone else has some interesting answers about what's wrong with the show's infamous mythical sleazy country Nerdocrumbesia.

Finished out the night after a shower on YouTube with game show episodes featuring Betty White, in honor of her 101st birthday Tuesday. Betty goes way further back on game shows than anyone probably knows. She filled in for Peggy Cass on an episode of To Tell the Truth from 1959. She has an easier time figuring out who's a security guard than which of the three people are the host of a horror show called Nightmare and a ping pong champion. 

Betty's probably most associated with Password. She married its original host, Allen Ludden, in 1963. During the early 70's ABC series, the two even changed places for a week, letting Betty host while Allen played as a panelist...and they both did very well, too. Too bad the episode seen here is the only one known to exist from that week.

She continued playing Password, even after Allen died of stomach cancer in 1981. Betty was a frequent panelist on Super Password with Bert Convy in the mid-80's. Bert even called it "her" show. I don't think they would have allowed anyone else to get away with destroying the question holder used for the hated "Ca$hword" mini-game in the last episode!

Betty appeared on Password straight into the new millennium. Million Dollar Password reworked the game into an overly-complicated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire clone, complete with a winnings ladder and dark neon-lit set. In mid-June, she turned up with comedienne Susie Esseman from Curb Your Enthusiasm to help a lady navigate the new rules. Regis Philibin was on hand to make it as close to Millionaire as possible.

Of course, she did many other game shows, too. She made frequent appearances on the various Pyramids over the years, including an early week of The New $25,000 Pyramid with Charles Siebert. She played well in the regular rounds, but had no luck with the Winner's Circle. Charles did much better there.

My favorite Betty appearances are by far on Match Game. She was by far one of the best players in the sixth "comedienne" seat, never failing to have a funny answer or come up with a great bit with Richard Dawson, who sat next to her. She also had a fondness for mock-stripteases, as we see in this hilarious episode from 1978. Richard wasn't as cheery by this point - Gene point-blank tells him to smile - but he seemed to perk up for Betty's bits. 

Climb pyramids and strip down with the Queen of Game Shows! (The copy of Password '75 is rough, inverted, and in black and white, but it seems to be the only version of that rare episode online at the moment.)

To Tell the Truth (1959)

Password (1975)

Match Game (1978)

The New $25,000 Pyramid (1982)

Super Password (1989)

Million Dollar Password (2008)

A Fair Neighborhood for All

Began a sunny morning with breakfast and the last of the three new Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood episodes. Miss Elania gets a cut while she's out with Lady Elaine and Dan, and they stop with Doctor Anna for a bandage. Elania's upset because the color of the bandage isn't the same as the color of her skin or Doctor Anna's. Lady Elaine shows how they can use the crayon factory to make sure "Miss Elania's Bandage" now looks like her. Prince Wednesday's cousin Chrissie wants to join him and Dan on the slide, but she can't manage the steps with her crutches. King Friday and Mrs. Tiger build a ramp for her, so all the kids can have "A Fair Place to Play."

Worked on writing for a while after the cartoon ended. Debralee wasn't expecting it to be so cold in Southern California. That's because they're not in California anymore, Gene explains. They're in the Land of the Snowflakes. The head of the Snow Fairies can tell them more...and she's very familiar...

Got to work right on time today...and once again, I wish I hadn't. Work was a pain. One set of women questioned every price on every single item they bought. Admittedly, the Off spray they claimed they got from the clearance shelves didn't come up right...but when the manager caved in and gave to them for $1.67, they went and bought ten more! And then they complained that their orders came up to too much, when the computer added their order just fine. And all the fussing held up a long line. I wish people would learn to read the prices and trust us to do our jobs. We're not there to cheat you. We're there to ring up your orders. (And the manager was still trying to explain to them that their orders rang up right even 20 minutes after they got out of my line.)

And then, about an hour later, another man threw a fit because he couldn't buy a 12 pack of Pepsi and two 12 packs of Sunkist Grape and Canada Dry. Sorry, but you can't mix and match brands on the soda sales, only the flavors in the brand. The manager gave him that, too...and then, of course, the guy put back the soda and half his order because it turns out he didn't have enough money after all. Thank heavens it slowed down enough by 7 for me to get off on time with no relief. 

Went straight home and into Match Game Syndicated and dinner. Sweet and lovely Judy Landers, jolly impressionist Richard Paul, and big George Kennedy joined in for the third week of syndicated shows. Gene was absolutely delighted to give Judy a welcoming kiss! The others help out with "Devil __" on the Audience Match.

Finished out the night with Winter A-Go-Go. I go further into Columbia's entry in the winter-themed party movies of the mid-60's at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Winter A-Go-Go

Children Will Listen

Began the morning with breakfast and The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About Christmas. Sally and Nick enjoy the Cat's holiday party, but they're excited to get home to spend Christmas Eve at Sally's house. Ralph the Reindeer gets lost and ends up at their house, too. They and the Cat try to get Ralph back to Freeze-Your-Knees Snowland by nightfall, but the Thing-a-Ma-Jigger keeps breaking down. Good thing they get help from their elephant, dolphin, and crab friends, and learn how different animals travel and stay together in the process.

Worked on writing after that. To Debralee's shock, Gene waves a wand that looks distinctly like his microphone over her and him. Thanks to the spell, they're now no bigger than the Nutcracker! Debralee isn't thrilled, but Gene has his reasons for wanting her to be so tiny...

Headed out soon as I got off the laptop. We were off-and-on busy as people start coming out of the malls and focusing on wrapping and baking. Wish I could handle them all better. Everyone says I do well, but it doesn't look like I'm doing well to me. It looks like I'm getting upset and frustrated because I can't get the words out to explain about the digital coupons or why they can't mix and match soda brands (only flavors). And, of course, someone went on break at the same time as I did, and mine was almost an hour late. 

Hurried home fast as I could after I finished. Ate dinner, then worked on getting the packages for Lauren and her parents, Anny and her family, and my family in Virginia together. I'm not sending anyone food this time, so they're all going to go out on Monday. I'd also like to avoid the trouble I had in 2020 with packages arriving late. 

Finished the night as I ate and worked with The Christmas That Almost Wasn't at Tubi. I go further into this low-budget Italian-American fantasy at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - The Christmas That Almost Wasn't

Yuletide Harts

I desperately needed to sleep in. It's been a long time since I've gotten a full night's sleep. I slept so long, it was noon before I really got going. Watched Match Game '75 while I ate, and then as I worked on my Christmas cards. William "Captain Kirk" Shatner and Broadway star Julie Harris joined in for this memorable week late in the year. The first one featured a young missionary as a contestant whom Richard took to task for pushing "family values" when he didn't have a family of his own. The second threw out some hard answers to "__ Nails" in the Audience Match.

By the time I'd switched to The Smiling Lieutenant, I had begun wrapping Christmas presents. I go further into this 1931 comic operetta featuring Maurice Chevalier as the soldier of the title caught between a naive princess and a smart orchestra leader at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

The Smiling Lieutenant

Headed out soon as the movie ended. Got to work just in time. Once again, we were off and on busy, often with grouchy or annoying people. One older man claimed he saw a sweet potato pie on sale for $5. I went to check the price in the bakery, and it definitely said $6.59. There were no sales anywhere near the pies. He kept claiming he saw it on an end table, but I couldn't find that end table. Another older man thought two large Bounty packs were buy-one get-one...and wasn't happy when I checked and told him they were on sale, but not with one free. The tags got stuck on the wrong items. We had so little help, and my line was still so long when I finished, a manager had to come in so I could get out on time.

Was going to watch Match Game '79 when I got home, but Jodie called while I changed. She's fine. Still living in Ocean City, and still hasn't heard from anyone, including Rose. She's also still convinced Rose was after the house and she is totally blameless in what happened last winter, neither of which are true. Rose has a house of her own, and Jodie spent those four months doing nothing but whining, complaining, talking behind my back and Rose's, and having no respect for anyone's feelings but her own. 

I'm just as angry, disappointed, and disgusted with her as I am with Rose. They handled that entire incident badly and are equally to blame for what happened. I don't ignore people who upset me, though. If she really does want me to come down after Christmas, fine, but I'm not going to call or initiate contact with her. 

Finished the night after dinner and a shower on The Roku Channel with Hart to Hart. "'Tis the Season to Be Murdered" when Johnathan finds the detective he hired to give him information on leaks in his toy company dead in a drive-in. He and Jennifer go undercover in their toy manufacturing plant to find the source of the leaks...and learns that a designer may be involved in more than just creating the latest toy robot. 

Champagne and Pumpkin Pie

Got another quick start today, with barely enough time to eat breakfast. At least the weather remains nice here. Yes, it's still cold and windy, but it's also sunny, with a pale blue sky. It actually feels like Thanksgiving, and I'll take that over it being too warm for the time of year.

Got stuck in a register again at work. We were off and on busy. The off times were slow enough for me to spend an hour shelving unwanted items, and getting a lot done, too. Unfortunately, I still had a lot of annoying customers. My last one was an older woman who kept complaining that her rewards program app wasn't working, and she wasn't getting anything. I tried to explain about having to push the buttons to clip the online coupons, but she claimed she did that. I eventually called a manager...who later discovered the woman was in such a hurry, she kept typing in the wrong phone number for her account.

Picked up cranberry scones for breakfast this week and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for a treat, then went home. Did some writing after I changed into regular clothes. Gene explains to Debralee that the Nutcracker had once been a solider who was turned into a wooden toy, along with his army, when he tried to defend a cursed princess and was in turned cursed by the wicked Mouse Queen. Bart dismisses this as silly, but Debralee thinks it's romantic.

Broke for dinner and Match Game PM at 7. Isobel Sanford showed off her nifty Kwanzaa shirt to the panel, to the delight of Gene Rayburn and Richard Dawson! She was less pleased when the judge wouldn't match her answer of "meter" for "parking meter." Charles does much better with "Cream of __" in a big 10,000 Head-to-Head.

Jimmie Walker, Elaine Joyce, and Marcia Wallace came in for the second episode. Marcia had a bit of surprise when she actually managed to match a rather gross question about what forty soldiers did after eating a bad dinner. Jimmie also came in for a ribbing about being on the thin side then, while the others try to figure out "Spin __" in the Audience Match.

Put on The Little Prince after dinner. I go further into this whimsical fantasy film from 1974 based after the famous French children's novel at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Family Fun Saturday - The Little Prince (1974)

Finished the night at YouTube with Lawrence Welk. They didn't get quite as into Thanksgiving as they did other holidays, but they still did a Thanksgiving show every year. The one from 1975 at least had the right spirit. Cissy King and Bobby Burgess dance a Castle-like Turkey Trot, complete with Ragtime-era costumes. Jimmy Roberts and Norma Zimmer enjoy "Sitting In the Evening By the Fireside." Tanya Faylen Welk sings "Winter Wonderland" while watching the dancers "skate." Ken Delo has fun in the audience, reminding the old folks that "You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Loves You."

I have fond memories of watching the 1978 Thanksgiving episode in college. I never forgot Mary Lou Metzinger and Jack Imel's charming "What You Got Cookin'?" as a maid who thinks the man working on the turkey is the actual chef. Cissy and Bobby's idea of a Native American war dance, complete with stereotypical face paint and fringe, has dated far less well nowadays. They come off much better doing a sprightly polka with Welk and Myron Floren towards the end. Anacani gives thanks in her native Spanish with "Vaya Con Dios." Norma Zimmer says a prayer over Thanksgiving dinner and honors their guest Meredith Wilson with "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You."

Their last Thanksgiving episode debuted in 1981. The show began and ended with "Home For the Holidays," and the big dinner finale was done to "We Gather Together." The Hotsy Totsy Boys joined three lovely ladies for the Roaring 20's favorite "Baby Face." Ken Delo and his long-time friend Arthur Duncan go "Back In Your Own Backyard" and remember why it's so important to get home to your family at Thanksgiving. Bobby Burgess joins his new partner Elaine Niverson for a lively "Turkey In the Straw" cowboy square dance. Kathie Sullivan gets "Fireside" here, with assistance from Bob Ralsten and his organ. All three episodes feature the orchestra's rousing performance of "76 Trombones" from The Music Man. 

Celebrate Thanksgiving with your family and Lawrence Welk's!

Thanksgiving Show - 1975

Thanksgiving Show - 1978

Thanksgiving Show - 1981

The Kissing Bandit, the Feud, and the Matches

Started off the morning with breakfast and the 1997 Broadway revival of 1776. This was a surprise hit that ran a year, and I can hear why. Bret Spiner is a dynamic and full-throttled John Adams; Linda Emond is also excellent as his sensible wife Abigail. Their "'Till Then" is a pleasure. I also like "Piddle, Twiddle, and Resolve," and Gregg Edelman roars an especially strong "Molasses to Rum." 

Worked on writing for the rest of the morning. Ira has his reasons for turning up at the party, and it's not entirely getting Bart out of the hallway. Someone spied mice in the hall, a big fat female and male mouse, and he's worried they may have shown up at the party. No one's seen any mice, and Gene says he'll keep an eye on their cheese.

Broke just in time to rush to work. Spent most of the afternoon in a register. We were off-and-on busy, often with long lines and  no help. It could have been worse. We're lucky the Eagles play tomorrow night. They actually pulled me to push carts for a half-hour at one point. The afternoon bagger never called or came in. At least the weather was decent. Cold and blustery, but also sunny, and a lot closer to normal for the season than it has been. 

Many of my customers weren't nearly that pleasant. One woman kept giving me a hard time about prices, fussing over every clearance item she bought. She kept claiming the 50% off manager's coupons on the meat hadn't taken the right price off, though it did. I sent her to customer service, so they could tell her the same thing. Another woman threw a fit because she didn't understand about our rewards program. I didn't explain it well enough. 

Needless to say, I rushed home after that. Had dinner while listening to the soundtrack from Snow White and the Three Stooges. Many Stooge fans find this charming figure skating fairy tale to be too sweet and lacking in slapstick, but I think it's adorable. Some of the songs aren't bad, either. Snow's (Carol Heiss) wistful ballad "Happiness" is lovely, and Mel Blanc as the ventriloquist's dummy Quinto gets "I'm In Love" after his human Quatro (Edson Stoll) falls for her. There's also a song for the Stooges on the first side I suspect may have been recorded but not used, as they didn't sing in the film.

Finished the night online with a tribute to Richard Dawson. Dawson started out as a comedian in his native England before coming over to the US in the early 60's. He bounced around in a few shows before joining the cast of Hogan's Heroes in 1966 as the show's wisecracking British prisoner and thief. 

His real metier, though, was game shows. Sadly, most of his earliest game show appearances, including as a judge for the music show Juke Box Jury in England, were lost to the ravages of time and tape erasure. Started off with the short-lived 1970 revival of the comedy show Can You Top This? Dawson joins fellow hams Morey Amsterdam, Jack Carter, and Paul Winchell and his dummies to see if they can top jokes sent in by viewers. Wink Martindale keeps the proceedings moving.

Goodson-Todman were impressed by his wit there and in several unused pilots and brought him in for another short-lived revival, this of I've Got a Secret in syndication from 1972. Richard was a regular panelist, and he really livened up the show with his wit and joking around. While his reaction to the first lady is pretty funny, the real reason I went with this one is the bit of video game history Rod Serling shows off to host Steve Allen near the end of the program.

That led Richard to appearing on a far longer-lasting revival. He became one of the three main regulars for the smash 1973 Match Game, and the only one to be there from the beginning. His suave charm and sly humor contrasted nicely with crusty Brett Somers and fussy Charles Nelson Reilly. At least in its early years, he could be counted on to throw out a joke...but his answers were just as often right, as in the infamous "trench hand" daytime episode from 1975, and the "burns & cuts" nighttime syndicated episode from later that year. Host Gene Rayburn never grasped that you don't bet against Richard, especially in the Audience Match!

Even as Match Game picked up steam, he got his first national hosting gig with the 1974 revival of the 50's show Masquerade Party. In this early non-singing Masked Singer, a celebrity panel has to guess who is dressed up as a character in makeup and a costume. (And interestingly, Reilly also turned up in the one episode currently available online.) 

Undaunted by the failure of Masquerade Party, Richard begged for another chance to host. His agent even threatened to have him withhold his jokes on Match Game if he didn't get one. He finally got it with Family Feud in 1976. We get to see the pilot here, with a far more cramped set but an assured and polished Richard.

Richard didn't start infamously kissing the female contestants until later in the run. He claimed he did that to make them feel more at ease. This was controversial even then, with many people calling him on it. It didn't help his raging ego, which had gotten worse when the show became popular. He finally dropped out of Match Game in 1978 after much bitterness to focus on Feud...and proceeded to anger the producer there, too. 

He did better on other people's shows. One of the few remaining episodes of Password All-Stars from 1975 is the finale of the celebrity championship. Richard plays against Betty White, Hal Linden, and Bill Bixby in four rounds. He proved to be just as good coming up with words as he was with matching them. Check out everyone's words (and tones of voice) for "Hallelujah!" 

The celebrity gossip show Tattletales had Richard, Bob Barker, and Jack Nartz appear with their significant others for a week in 1976. Each man took over hosting the show for a day so actual host Bert Convy could play with his wife Ann. Richard actually did very well, especially with the ladies' questions!

After Feud ratings declined in the early 90's, they brought Richard back to help revive the show in 1994. This may have been a nice gesture, but it didn't really work. The show had gone through several changes by that point that added unnecessary elements to the game, including being expanded to an hour. Richard himself hadn't hosted or done much of anything besides help take care of his new daughter for years, and he wasn't nearly as sharp as he had been. Richard's return didn't really help a whole lot, and Feud finally ended its years on network TV in 1995.

Let's play the Feud and match wits and answers with everyone's favorite English charmer! (Thanks to Wink Martindale for Masquerade Party. Can You Top This? is in two parts, and that and Masquerade Party have numbers on the screen, but they're the only episodes known to exist. Look for the original commercials and the ones from their Game Show Network runs on Password All-Stars, Can You Top This?, and the 1994 Family Feud!)

Can You Top This? (1970)

I've Got a Secret (1972)

Masquerade Party (1974)

Match Game (1975)

Match Game PM (1975)

Password All Stars (1975)

Family Feud Pilot (1975)

Tattletales (1976)

Family Feud Synd (1982)

Family Feud (1994)

Salute Your Games

Started out a humid and hazy morning rushing to work. I wish I'd stayed home. It wasn't bad for the first half-hour, when I put away unwanted items, and the last half-hour, but everything in between got messy. We had long lines for a lot of the day, and a lot of huge beginning-of-the-month orders. No reason for anyone to suddenly run home, either. The Eagles played (and won) on Thursday and don't play again until next Monday.

I had such a hard time dealing with people. I hate it when people end up having to put back a quarter of their order because they think 500 dollars worth of groceries comes up to 100. If your cart is full to overflowing, it's probably not going to cost under 100. (And it's not entirely inflation. People have pulled this for years.) And they all tend to throw anything they don't want all over the shelves instead of saying "I don't want this" and handing it to me. I spent my last five minutes returning a container of cooked shrimp a family didn't want and hadn't bothered handing to me. Of course, it got cold. And we didn't have a bagger for an hour, and when we did, they threw him right into sweeping and doing carts.

Needless to say, I rushed home the minute I dropped the shrimp at the seafood department. Went straight into dinner and Match Game '74 after I changed. Jack Narz of Concentration, Elaine Joyce, and Fannie Flagg join the regulars in giving some goofy answers to what kind of burgers they sell at the North Pole. Richard does even better with "__ Brush" in the Head-to-Head.

Stuck around for dessert and Match Game PM. The first episode is the best of the nighttime show, and one of the best in the entire series. The whole episode is wild, thanks to hilarious sniping between Betty White and Brett, but the real fun came during the first Audience Match. Richard claimed his answer of "Color TV" for "Admiral __" would be on the board. Gene bet him a dollar it wouldn't. Guess who was right? 

The next show with Julie Harris and William Shatner was almost as much fun, and came from another week that got crazy in general. Brett swooned over a handsome young single man in the opening, especially after she asked him he liked older women, and he gave her a thumbs up! Gene gave Richard a kiss after he gave a great answer, too. There's also the answers to the Audience Match, "__ McGraw."

Finished the night saluting our Armed Forces for Veteran's Day this Friday. From 1989 to 1991, the Ray Combs Family Feud did a week-long championship, with each branch of the Armed Services playing each other for charity. The two top winners came back Monday for the biggest cash prize. I went with the first week from 1989. The game between the Marines and the Navy got really wild, especially when the female captain of the Navy reminded the Marines that they're technically the Department of the Navy. 

Despite that, the Marines wound up being the big winners. They were a lot of fun to watch, too. They cheered on good answers and bad and by far had the best trash-talking. The one woman officer did really well at the Fast Money round. She won it for them twice, the second time after the Hungarian-born officer before her barely got anything. The big guys on her team were so delighted, they picked her up and swung her around! I don't think her feet touched the ground for five minutes after she won the first time.

Salute those who serve our country with this delightfully funny week of Armed Service Feuds! 

Game #1 - Army vs Navy

Game #2 - Air Force vs Marines

Game #3 - Army vs Coast Guard

Game #4 - Air Force vs Coast Guard

Game #5 - Marines vs Navy

Game #6 - Championship: Army vs Marines