Rainy Afternoon at the Library

Started my day with breakfast and He-Man. The "Song of Celice" is the only thing that can tame a monster named Yog that terrorizes the Kingdom of Tahryn. Skeletor kidnaps the beautiful singer to hypnotize her and have her bring Yog to Castle Greyskull and attack the Sorceress. He-Man and his friends have to break her out of it and remind her that her music is intended to be peaceful.

Headed out on foot after the cartoon ended. I had originally intended to take my bike into Collingswood, but it had already rained. In fact, the rain was just ending as I made my way down East Clinton. This was not a biking day. Collingswood isn't really that far on foot anyway, not more than 10-15 minutes. 

When I got to Haddon Avenue, I made a brief stop to browse in the brand-new housewares store Twelvetrees before making my way down to the Collingswood Library. Other than a couple of kids and their parents in the children's area and the librarians, they were utterly quiet. Everyone must have been at lunch. I spent a pleasant hour and a half relaxing in a plump scarlet chair with a book I haven't read in almost 30 years or more. 

I forget where I first found the original 1978 print of American Musical Theater: A Chronicle by Gerald Boardman. It was either the Cape May Library, the Villas Library, or one of the school libraries. This jumps much further back than most books that cover the history of musical theater, all the way to the 1866 extravaganza The Black Crook. It goes into detail about early musicals in particular that are practically forgotten now, like Harrigan and Hart and their Mulligan Guards' Ball, A Trip to Chinatown that sounds like a trial run for Hello Dolly over 60 years later, the comic opera Robin Hood, the Weber and Fields music hall comedies, and Victor Herbert's beloved operettas. This is how I know about these shows at all. I certainly hadn't heard of them before I read this, other than watching Yankee Doodle Dandy every 4th of July and the Disney Babes In Toyland on the Disney Channel. 

(The entries are less detailed after the 1940's. I don't think Boardman appreciated the musicals of the mid and late 20th century the way he did the late 19th and early 20th century shows. He seemed to find most of them to be too dark and leaned too heavily on rock and newer forms of music.)

I would have lingered longer, but I wanted to have lunch before the weather turned. My original plan was Sabrina's Cafe, but I know how busy they get at lunchtime. Palerma's Restorante was practically empty other than a couple on the other end near the window. I had a lovely and quiet meal, enjoying a slightly spicy breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, black beans, bacon, and avocado and the best darn restaurant home fries I ever tasted while admiring the large, lovely, and very real yellow roses on the table.

Made one last stop at Haddon Culinary to grab a Diet Dr. Pepper for the walk home. I also enjoyed a matcha latte and bought a slice of Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake with cannoli icing to eat at home later. The matcha latte was ok. It really tasted more of oat milk than green tea. The pound cake was nicely dense and just sweet enough, especially that cannoli icing!

(Oh, and it did finally rain...at 3:30, almost a half-hour after I got in. And when it rained, it monsooned. Lashing winds, heavy downpours, the whole nine yards. Some areas even reported tornadoes, though I don't think that was a concern here. The rain has continued off and on for the rest of the evening.)

Soon as I got home, I went straight into Camp Rock 3. I cover the newest Disney Channel original musical at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Musicals On TV - Camp Rock 3

Switched to Remember WENN after the movie ended. "In the WENN Small Hours" kicks off the third season as Victor Comstock explains what he's doing at the station and how he managed to survive the Blitz. Meanwhile, station organist Eugenia Bremer (Mary Stout) interviews explorer Cutter Dunlap (Malcom Gets) for her late-night show, and wonders if it was such a great idea when he starts spouting nonsense Betty and Victor fed him after he caught them together. Victor can't let anyone but Betty know he's alive...including Scott, whom it seems he may not know all that well after all.

Betty's still trying to figure out what's going on with Scott and his arrival at the station in the next episode "Prior to Broadway." His letter of introduction from Victor sounds awfully familiar, including using Scott's familiar "Oh, would you look at the time?" catchphrase. Hilary's more interested in getting her and Jeff back on the stage. They perform a play written by the handsome Euripides Moss (Harry Hamlin), but can't decide if it's a comedy or a drama before it goes on the air in front of their sponsors the Sweets (Peggy Cass and Louis Zorich). 

Went straight into Match Game '76 next. Darlene just kept winning and flirting with Richard, straight into the next week with Jimmie Walker and Fannie Flagg. Jimmie thinks that the person who plays Snow White in a question should look a lot more like him. Richard and Fannie find what they claim to be the key to that infamous Encino motel room that's a running gag between Brett and Gene.

Finished the night with The Polar Bear King on YouTube. I used to see this Norwegian fairy tale fantasy a lot at local video stores throughout the 90's. It's based on the Scandinavian stories "East of the Sun, West of the Moon" and "The White Bear, King Valedmon." A lovely young princess (Maria Bonnevie) marries a polar bear, only to discover he's the King Valemon (Tobias Hoesl), who has been cursed into that form by an evil witch (Anna-Lotta Larson). If she can hold out not seeing his face for seven years, he can avoid marrying the witch. Unfortunately, the princess uses a candle given to her by her silly sisters to look at his face. The witch takes him away, and the princess must find him with the help of Valemon's mother (Monica Nordquist) and her children, whom the queen took away to protect from the witch.

I remember liking but not loving this as a kid. On one hand, the bear was actually created by the Jim Henson Company, and he's pretty realistic-looking and moves really well. The movie's pretty cheap for a romantic fantasy, though, and some of the dubbed dialogue in the English language version is stiff as heck. Still worth checking out if you're a fan of fairy tales like I am (especially considering "White Bear" isn't often adapted in North America). 

Tropical Adventures at Home

Started off my morning with breakfast and Little Bear. Little Bear's "Picnic On Pudding Hill" gets pretty crazy when No Feet decides to join in, then Emily's hat blows away and everyone chases it. Even after they catch Emily's hat, it turns out No Feet decided to start the picnic without them. "Little Bear's Walkabout" takes him in the woods to find mysterious creatures. He learns about such unusual woodland animals and insects as a month, a tortoise that's so big, it gives him a ride, and a woodpecker. Little Bear's "Secret Friend" is a whale, who tells him all about the sea while he explains land creatures.

Headed out to work after that. No trouble there. We were quiet all morning. There wasn't even the usual mid-morning surge. I spent the entire time sweeping, pushing carts, and enjoying a hot, humid, sunny summer's day. Was in and out with no difficulty whatsoever. I even took the long way down Nicholson, dodging the traffic just to enjoy the weather a little longer.

In fact, when I got home, I decided I wasn't quite ready to go in yet. I changed clothes, then went back out and rode my bike to WaWa to grab lunch. Tried their Chicken Ranch Wrap and Strawberry Passionfruit Smoothie, along with a bottle of watermelon Propel. Yummy! The smoothie was just the right sweet-tart, and the wrap had lots of chicken and bacon and ranch dressing.

Had lunch while watching the last two Remember WENN episodes of the second season. Station go-fer and janitor Mr. Eldridge (George Hall) is excited when his old friend, former vaudevillian Pepper Carnasie (Eddie Bracken), visits the station. Unfortunately, he's working for overbearing hearing aid salesman Blair Foley (Michael Patrick McGrath) and his company, who use him as a shill. Frankly, Pepper and Mr. Eldridge are more "Like a Brother" than obnoxious Blair is with his little brother, silent sound effects master Mr. Foley (Tom Beckett). Scott and Foley finally find a better use for Foley's new laugh track machine than to bolster Mackie's bad jokes...showing the overbearing Blair just how important listening is, at any age.

It's "Magic" time at WENN when sponsor Kurt Holstrom are among those who sit in on the debut of Hilary and Jeff's mind-reading act. Scott and Betty are more concerned about the coded messages on Amazon Andy, the show Holstrom sponsors, not always making sense. Holstrom and the codes turn out to be a lot darker than anyone thinks as the cast works together to stop a spy from sending coded information. Mackie's just hoping Hilary's claim that "someone at this station will pass through the doorway between life and death" doesn't mean him. She's right, but not in the way she thinks. After the others leave for questioning, Betty has a late-night visitor...one she thought perished in the Blitz months ago, whom she never expected to see again...

The second and third seasons of WENN are far and away my favorites. Scott's in his element as the con-man station manager, vivacious Maple is a great addition, and this is the season where Hilary and Jeff function the most like a team and get some of the best lines. "Christmas In the Airwaves" is my favorite episode, but "Scott Sherwood of the FBI," "Close Quarters," "Magic," and "Radio Silence" are all enjoyable, too. And if you thought that cliffhanger on "Magic" was crazy, things get even more complicated from here on in...

Switched to Fire & Ice on Tubi after lunch. Ralph Bakshi of American Pop fame made this Conan the Barbarian-esque animated fantasy in 1983, during the height of the early 80's sword-and-sorcery craze. Evil Queen Julliana (Susan Tyrell) and her spoiled sorcerer son Nekron (Stephen Mendel) use his magic to create a series of glaciers that destroys any village in their path. They send a delegate of their neanderthal-like goons to negotiate with Jerol (Leo Gordon), king of the volcano kingdom Firekeep. They're really there to kidnap his beautiful daughter Teegra (Maggie Roswell) and force her to marry Nekron. 

Teegra manages to escape and runs into Lam (William Ostrander), a warrior from a village that was destroyed by the glaciers. They fall for each other, but he loses her again when she's captured after he fights a giant squid. She ends up at Icepeak, while Lam falls in with masked warrior Darkwolf (Steve Sandor), who has his own bone to pick with Julliana and her bratty son. Lam and Darkwolf are the only ones who can rescue Teegra from Icepeak, before the glacier hits the Firekeep volcano, and the entire country melts away.

He-Man aside, I never was much for those grunt-and-groan barbarian movies from the early 80's. Rose loved Red Sonja and the Conan films, but I thought they were dumb. This doesn't really change my mind. Bakshi's gorgeous animation, with its rotoscoped, barely-dressed figures against lush tropical or icy backgrounds, doesn't offset the heavily cliched story. Teegra being rescued once or twice would have been interesting, but it happens at least four or five times. 

There's the violence, too. There's a lot of blood and stabbing people in this movie. Most of the dialogue, especially in the middle third, consists of grunting and gasping as everyone tries to either avoid or kill everyone else. Even with the cliches and lack of dialogue, if you're like Rose and you're a fan of Conan or Red Sonja, this is worth checking out at least once for that incredible animation.

Moved to Sailor Moon at Hulu next. Usagi desperately wants to go on a couples-only cruise to find a boyfriend, but Rei gets two tickets and invites Ami instead. Usagi sneaks aboard with Luna anyway and discovers that "I Want a Boyfriend: The Luxury Cruise Ship Is a Trap" when she and the girls are attacked by Jedite and a monster who were taking energy from couples in love.

Watched Match Game '76 during dinner. Though the first episode of the night finished the Tom Poston/Barbara Shawma week, most of the night was devoted to the next week with Greg Morris, Betty White, and Price Is Right model Anitra Ford. Richard spent that week flirting with statuesque blonde Darlene, who wound up being the show's biggest winner to that point.

Finished the night listening to the 2008 South Pacific revival recording. This was enormously well-received when it debuted and ran for three years, and it's not hard to tell why here. Kelli O'Hara is a winning and lovely Nellie. Her "Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair" and "Honey Bun" are especially charming. Paulo Szot made such a wonderfully masculine Emille, he picked up one of this show's seven Tonys (still the most for a revival). Loretta Ables Sayres has too much fun with "Happy Talk" and a gorgeous "Bali Hai." This CD also features music that tends to get left off of other recordings of this show, including "My Girl Back Home" (here a solo for Cable), the full Overture and Entre' Acte, and all reprises. 

If you want South Pacific in your collection, this and the exceptional original cast with Mary Martin are probably the best choices. (Though I have heard good things about a 1967 Broadway revival with a well-cast Florence Henderson as Nellie.) 

Sleepytime Gal

Began the morning with breakfast and Care Bears Family. Funshine and Playful Heart keep yelling "help!" during "The Camp Out" and making the others run out to rescue them. They think it's hilarious, until they and Hugs and Tugs are trapped in a pit with what they think is a swamp monster looming over them. "I, Robot Heart" is a cute little robot Grumpy and Bright Heart fix up to help their friends. This sweet little fellow wants nothing more than a heart of his own. He's disappointed when Grumpy and Bright Heart can't make him one, but learns about having real courage when he rescues them from Beastly. 

Rushed to work even before the cartoon ended. I spent almost the entire day cleaning the sink area in the back, near the employee room. This is where the sink for ringing mops out is and the area where the spray bottles for the registers are filled. It's dirty and moldy along those walls, even after they were rebuilt a few years ago. I finally used scrub sponges and a sponge mop that has a part with a scrub brush. I didn't get it all off, and I couldn't get past the big machine that polishes our floor to clean the side wall, but it looks a little better. The sponge and sponge mop came in handy for scrubbing the baler, too. I had to wait on cleaning that because everyone was using it in the morning.

Finally got outside around 12:30. The head bagger had been sweeping and doing carts. The head manager told me to pick up trash at the cart corrals. He thought it would take me 20 minutes. Um, it took me five. I did fill a small plastic bag with bottles, but there are only four cart corrals, and they fixed the covers for the bottoms on two out of four of them ages ago. I was in and out with no trouble whatsoever, other than it got hot during the morning and I nearly sweated to death going home.

When I got in, I changed, then cut up some plums and added them and cinnamon to that buckwheat pancake mix to make Plum Cobbler Pancakes. Ate them while watching Remember WENN. "Scott Sherwood of the FBI" has told his Aunt Agatha (Jan Miner) that the station is a branch of the crime unit. Scott and Betty do their best to make her think they're all G-men and women. It isn't until a real FBI agent turns up (Tom Tammi) that Aunt Agatha reveals she not only knew the truth from the start, but was way ahead of them.

Went down for a nap after the episode ended and I cleaned up from lunch. I was so tired, I lay down at 2:30 and didn't roll out of bed until quarter of 5! I finished Penny from Heaven after I got up, then watched more WENN. Turns out Scott has a far more damaging lie going than claiming WENN is part of the FBI. He's been skimming off two of the sponsors, including Flowergrams, the sponsors of their Bridal Bouquet program, to create a memorial for Victor. He's made the sponsor think they marry real couples on the show! When the sponsor (Julie Haggarty), a former sweetheart of Mackie Bloom, actually turns up at the station, Betty has to pretend to be "The First Mrs. Bloom" to keep up the illusion.

Switched to Match Game '76 during dinner. Tonight moved on to the week with a grumpy Tom Poston and slightly ditzy Barbara Shawma. Gene received a lovely champagne-pink microphone trimmed with sequins from an audience member in one episode that he dubbed his "Cher" microphone.

Finished the night with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Doctor Mordrid is one of the more recent episodes from 2022. This 1992 low-budget fantasy-superhero flick is likely part of the run of stylish superhero movies that came out in the 90's after the Batman films were sensations. Doctor Mordrid (Jeffery Combs) is an ageless wizard who must track down evil wizard Kabal (Brian Thompson) who wants to find the Philosopher's Stone and end reality as we know it. He's aided by Samantha Hunt (Yvette Nipar), a police researcher who lives in his building and keeps trying to figure out what's going on with his strange room at the end of the hall. She has to help him out when he's arrested for a series of murders actually caused by Kabal. 

Uh, yeah. Apparently, this was originally intended to be a Doctor Strange adaptation, but the rights fell through and they had to create their own character. Nipar is having a little more fun than the dull Combs and weird Thompson and his huge forehead, and the scene at the end with the stop-motion dinosaur skeletons coming to life is genuinely nifty, but most of it is as cheap as it looks. I wouldn't come here without the robot wisecracks unless you're a really huge fan of those 90's superhero movies or cheap sci-fi. 

Summertime Games

Began the morning with breakfast and the Monchhichis. Wizzar feels every bit of his hundred years on his birthday when he can't get his spells to work right, even for a coconut-opening machine. He forgets where he puts his magic staff, which brings a cookie shaped like him to life. It becomes "Dueling Wizzars" as the other Monchhichis first have to retrieve Wizzar when he thinks he's not needed, then show him that he can do magic with or without his staff.

Switched to Remember WENN while taking my laundry downstairs, making my bed, and going through my clothes. Hilary and Jeff become "Strange Bedfellows" when they both join the race for Pittsburgh's city council. Scott sets up a big debate on the airwaves, which also brings in Luke Langley (David Canary), a laid-back former baseball player running for a smaller group. Meanwhile, Scott has the others taking political polls, Mackie and Maple take an informal one of their own, and Enid can't seem to stay neutral while polling.

"Close Quarters" has the entire cast in quarantine at the station when paranoid Dr. Bickman (Michael Jaye) thinks the sick Mr. Foley has a rare disease. The others enjoy their confinement on the first night, as they share a dance and dinner...but the longer the quarantine continues, the more they get on their nerves, until it starts to show on the air. Good thing Mr. Foley's infectious disease isn't quite what Bickman thinks.

Put the laundry in the dryer, then went out to run errands. My first stop was at the post office to drop paperwork in the box. Dollar General is just around the corner, so I went there next. Finally found the moisture eliminators. Bought two of those and two packs of hair bands. 

Cut across Newton Lake Park next to Shamrock Deli. I thought a picnic might be something fun and different. They weren't that busy at quarter after 2, when I ordered a small roast beef hoagie, a Snapple Diet Peach Tea, and a small bag of Charles Chips. (Hadn't had those in years. Mom had a tin we used for cookies in the 80's.) I had no sooner ordered my sandwich when suddenly people started appearing. By the time I left, there was a long line waiting for sandwiches or Door Dash orders.

Headed back to the park for lunch. I ate at one of the new picnic tables by the playground, the one under a shady tree. It wasn't bad when I went out, but by 2:30, it was sunny, hot, and killer humid. At least there was a nice breeze this time. I enjoyed my quiet lunch by the sparkling green lake (when I wasn't brushing away ants), listening to the breeze rustle the emerald trees. I finished and made my way back to the main path just as two women came with the cutest little girl. Even did a little swinging.

Cut back down to Cuthbert Road and rode all the way up to La Mortense Plus on the corner of Cuthbert and the White Horse Pike. Needless to say on a hot afternoon, they were busy. I'm just glad there wasn't a line. I had a gelati - in this case, dulce de leche ice cream layered with horchata water ice. Oh, yum! I think there was bits of what I think was the actual candy in there. (Either that or rice.) Either way, it was delicious. I ate while watching three ladies chat and three kids, two in soccer uniforms, enjoy water ice together.

Went straight home after that. Brought the laundry upstairs and folded it, then spent the next two hours listening to records. I picked up the original soundtrack for the Disney Babes In Toyland on eBay last week. I've only found the book and record in this area. Even here, a lot of the songs don't sound like the originals. The kids only sing on "Go to Sleep, Slumber Deep." You don't even hear them on "The Work Song." "Just a Whisper Away" and "Just a Toy" are entirely different. At the very least, I'm sure that's the actual adult cast doing the singing. Ray Bolger is unmistakable on "Castle In Spain." 

The soundtrack for Snow White and the Three Stooges not only includes all of the narration, but it also has a song for the Stooges, "Looking for People, Looking for Fun," that was either cut from the film, or recorded but not used. Most of the songs are for Carol Heiss as Snow White (including the lovely "Place Called Happiness"), Mel Blanc as the voice of ventriloquist's dummy Quatro, or the chorus ("Once In a Million Years"). I think both the soundtrack and the film are underrated in the Stooges filmography. There's a lot about this that's really enjoyable.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is an old favorite of mine. It used to show up frequently on local stations in the 1980's, and we'd rent the movie quite a bit, too. I consider this to be one of the best scores the Sherman Brothers wrote outside of Disney along with Charlotte's Web. Though the catchy title song got the Oscar nomination, I like the charming "Truly Scruptious" for the lady by that name and the kids and two hilarious numbers for Grandpa, "Posh!" and "The Roses of Success." 

Moved to Match Game '76 even before Chitty ended. The entire two hours covered the week Ron Paillio of Welcome Back, Kotter debuted on the show. He always seemed to have a great time, and probably played better than anyone else from that show besides Debralee Scott. Joining him that week were Jo Ann Worley and her trills and Fannie Flagg and her apple t-shirt.

Finished the night after dinner and a shower putting the spotlight on host Jim McKreill. Most people nowadays probably know this native Texan better as a reporter in Gremlins or in movies like Annie Hall and Defending Your Life than as a game show host. He started out hosting the Chuck Barris personality-test-based The Game Game in 1969 before landing what would be his only hit in 1974. Celebrity Sweepstakes is a comedy panel show that's basically a cross between Match Game and Jeopardy. The audience would give odds on whether a panelist could answer a certain question. Contestants made bets based on those odds. Too bad this show is hard to find today. McKreill is charming, the premise is really fun, and the panel is hilarious.

Most of his hosting seemed to have been limited to pilots that weren't picked up for a series. His last hosting gig to date has been the short-lived 1978 revival of Quiz Kids. This is a pretty standard questions-and-answer game with kids under the age of 10 instead of adults. If the kids answer wrong, they lose points. If they answer right, they can get a certain amount of points. Other than a colorful set and it filming in Boston, this wasn't anything enormously special and barely lasted half a season in syndication.

McKrell seems to have done better on other people's shows. He appeared twice on Celebrity Bowling. In the episode shown here, he and character actor Vince Edwards are playing against the comically mismatched team of Peter Bonerz and Pat Moriata. He does much better in 3 for the Money. This is another quiz show, this time with two adults and a celebrity captain. McKrell is joined by Barbara Felton as the team captains. I give him credit. Not only did he and the two women on his team pull off a comeback, but they did really well in the bonus round, too. Too bad this show only lasted two months, and this is one of four episodes known to exist.

Towards the end of his career, McKrell switched to announcing. He took over for Joe Alasky near the end of Couch Potato's short-lived syndicated run. Marc Summers hosts another quiz show, this one taking place in a cartoon living room and revolving entirely around TV trivia. They even frequently had guests to help with the questions, like when Janice Parkington from The Price Is Right turns up on the episode listed here. (Oh, and at press time, McKrell is still living, but has been retired since 2016. Couch Potatoes was his last game show to date as a host or announcer.)

Celebrate this cowboy's career with celebrities out of the gate, quiz kids answering tough questions, and learning about more TV trivia than you can shake a potato chip at in these delightful episodes!

Celebrity Sweepstakes (1974)

3 for the Money (1975)

Celebrity Bowling (1976)

Quiz Kids (1978) Part 1 Part 2

Couch Potatoes (1989)

The Hosts With the Matches

Started the morning with breakfast and Rockin' Easy. This 2-disc Warners collection of "laid-back hits" from 1975 features quite a few songs and covers that were entirely new to me. I didn't know Jackson Browne recorded "Take It Easy" and Linda Rondstadt did a rather nice "Desperado," for instance. Bonnie Raitt's "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy" and the America version of "Muskrat Love" got into country turf. Randy Newman's "You Can Leave Your Hat On" was more of a novelty song. Better-known hits from this set include "She's Gone" by Hall and Oates, "The Right Thing to Do" by Carly Simon, "Without You" by Harry Nilsson, "You've Got a Friend" by James Taylor, "Diamond Girl" by Seals and Croft, "Then Came You" by Dionne Warwick and the Spinners, "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" by the Bee Gees, "Until You Come Back to Me" by Areatha Franklin, and "Sentimental Lady" by Fleetwood Mac.

Called Uber even before the last record ended. No trouble here. The first one came in 8 minutes. The one going home arrived in 7 minutes, and that was with the heavier shower. No traffic, either, and I arrived right on time.

No trouble at work, either. In fact, it was a bit boring. We were busy between about 10:30 and 1, and then it died out. Not only was it relatively dead, but there was actually too much help, for once. The Sunday bagger was already there when I came, and the afternoon bagger arrived around 11. They took care of sweeping, carts, and the trash. I was so bored by 2:30, and there was so little to do outside, I spent the last hour putting away unwanted items. 

The weather didn't help. It was just humid and in the lower 70's when I arrived at work, chilly for August. It showered lightly around 10, but that barely showed up on the sidewalk. The rain didn't really start coming down until I went home around 3:30. It's been showering heavily off and on ever since.

I needed a few things I forgot on Friday after work. I had a good online coupon for honey, and bagged spinach is part of the same dollar produce sale as those small containers of blueberries and raspberries. Got more shredded chicken for dinner later this week, too. 

When I got home, I changed, put everything away, finished out Rockin' Easy, then spent the rest of the night watching today's Match Game YouTube marathon. Game show hosts of the time were a common sight on Match Game panels well into the 90's. It was often hilarious to see them divorced from their own shows and watch them keep up with the matching.

Four of the most popular became semi-regulars in their own right. Bob Barker of The Price Is Right first appeared during the second week of the show in 1973 and would continue turning up through the early syndicated run in 1980. He usually spent his episodes joking about selling refrigerators to the crowd and ogling women, like when Gene told a cue card girl to cover her slit skirt because Bob was drooling. Dancer Bobby Van appeared sporadically from 1973 through 1977, with and without his wife Elaine Joyce. He went on to host Showoffs and Make Me Laugh. 

Genial Bill Cullen, the Dean of Game Shows himself, first turned up on a memorable week in 1973 that also featured "Mama" Cass Elliot and Brett sitting next to her then-husband Jack Klugman. He continued to appear on the show through the later syndicated episodes in 1981. Bert Convy of Tattletales and Super Password first showed up on the same week as Charles, Brett, and Betty in 1973. He lent his debonair presence frequently through 1975, with his final appearances being early in the 1979 syndicated run. 

Other hosts of the time showed up for one or two weeks. Comedian Robert Q. Lewis had a lot of fun during his one week late in 1973. Likewise, Jack Narz of Concentration and Now You See It had a ball during his one week near the end of 1974. Legendary announcer Gene Wood, who also turned up in 1974, hosted Beat the Clock after Narz dropped out in 1972. Wesley Eure, who would later go on to host the Nickelodeon show Finders Keepers, cuddled with Brett in 1980. Tom Kennedy, Narz's younger brother and host of Name That Tune, Body Language, and the later seasons of Password Plus, made his only appearance near the end of the syndicated run in 1981. 

Steve Allen hosted a few game shows in the 50's and had been a mentor to Gene Rayburn. He made his only appearance during a memorable week early in 1974. Everyman Larry Blyden of Broadway and the syndicated What's My Line also turned up early in 1974. Peter Marshall, master of the Hollywood Squares, did two hilarious weeks during the syndicated run in 1980. (He and Gene insisted during his first week that they looked alike. Personally, I don't see it.)

They're the hosts with the mostess on the ball in this hilarious marathon that lets favorite vintage hosts and announcers match their blank off!

Match Game Sunday Classics - Game Show Host Marathon

Sunny Day Matches

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Little Bear. "Between Friends" is the name of the book Emily gives Little Bear when he has the mumps. He returns the favor when she has it and brings the book to her. (Which turns this episode into something of a clip show.) Before "The Blueberry Picnic" begins, Little Bear and his friends put on a play about a troll (who looks rather familiar if you know Maurice Sendak's artwork) who terrorizes those who cross his bridge. When Emily pays more attention to Lucy on a camping trip, Little Bear decides "Lucy Needs a Friend." He and Mother Bear sew a bear buddy for Lucy.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. I didn't think my feet would be up to biking after a 7 and a 1/2 hour day. I think I made the right choice. No trouble here whatsoever. The driver going to work arrived in 8 minutes, and I got there right on time. The one going home came in 7 minutes.

I spent most of the day sweeping and pushing carts. The head bagger was recruited to clean the main entrance. Apparently, headquarters wants the store to be cleaned. I think I got the better job. The weather was gorgeous today, sunny and hot, but not at all humid, without a cloud in the searing bright blue sky. If there had been a breeze, it would have been perfect.

I was in and out all day and didn't really pay much attention to it, but there had been a bad smell in the back of the store since early in the morning. It got so bad by 4 PM, they evacuated the store, right as I was about to sweep. I managed to sign the sweep, put the broom away, and grab my bag before everyone got out. We were only out for about a half-hour, and whatever the bad smell was, it wasn't gas...but that was enough time to skip the sweeping and just do carts for the remaining time.

When I got home, I took a shower, had a chicken, tomato, and broccoli salad for dinner, and spent the rest of the night watching today's Match Game marathon. Most of Match Game ran just as local children's shows were starting to fall out of favor. Some iconic shows like Captain Kangaroo would be on the air until the 1980's. Mr. Rodgers' Neighborhood ran on PBS off and on from the late 60's until Fred Rodgers retired in 2001. Both were frequently referenced on the show, including Gene insisting that they should do a "Good morning, Captain!" commercial. (They finally did during the William Shatner/Julie Harris week in 1975, and yes, the commercials exist.) Sesame Street also got an occasional shout-out at the height of its original success as one of the most beloved shows on PBS. 

Puppets were rarer as panelists on Match Game than they were on Hollywood Squares (where the Muppets made occasional appearances), but they did appear. The first non-human panelists on the show were vintage puppet favorites Kukla and Ollie in 1979. They were long past their days as beloved children's show icons by then, but Gene Rayburn was a friend of their puppeteer Burr Tillstrom. I wish they came back. That week was adorable. Brett spent it flirting with Ollie the dragon, while everyone marched around the desks at one point. The PM episode was so sweet, with Ollie in his little black bow tie.

Willie Tyler and his puppet Lester of Laugh-In turned up on the show twice, late in the syndicated run in 1981 and later in Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour in 1983. Probably the most popular puppet-ventriloquist duo to turn up on Match Game were Ronn Lucas and his teenage dragon Scorch in the 1990-1991 run. In fact, they were one of the best things about the 1990 series. The two of them were always ready with a quip or a funny answer. (Brett wasn't as enamored with the idea of flirting with Stitch as she had been with Ollie over a decade before when she came, though.) 

Won't you be our neighbor and celebrate some of the most beloved children's shows and icons of all time in this charming marathon. 

Match Game Saturday Classics - Match Game With Mister Rogers, Captain Kangaroo, Sesame Street, and Other Kids' Program Stars

Fairy Tale Harts

Started off a late morning with breakfast and more brand-new episodes of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Grandpere helps Daniel get ready for his swim lesson. Daniel wants to go right away, but "Daniel's Morning Routine with Grandpere" means he needs to get dressed, eat, brush his teeth, and put on his shoes first. Likewise, Miss Elania is excited about the zither her dad Music Man Stan brings back from his store, but "Miss Elania Gets Ready for Bed" and takes her bath before he can play her a good-night song.

Watched the tail end of Family Feud Canada while making my grocery list, then headed out. My first stop was Dollar Tree. I'm still trying to find charcoal moisture eliminators for my attic rooms. I didn't see them there either, or at Target. I did get a quick Iced Orange Matcha Latte and spinach, tomato, feta, and egg wrap at the Target Starbucks for lunch. They were surprisingly quiet for noon. The kids must have been at the pool or riding around on their bikes.

Did my grocery shopping next, starting at Sprouts. I mainly wanted oat milk and dried mango slices here. Nixie sodas were on sale, and the cream cans had coupons attached with rubber bands. I'd been wanting to try their new strawberry cream flavor anyway. Their bakery chocolate chip cookies had a half-price sticker on them. Italian plums weren't a bad price, and I love the ones the farm market sells. Found shredded rotisserie chicken in a container for meals this week. 

Dodged road repair on Cuthbert that blocked the entrance to the auto parts store next to the Westmont Acme. They were slightly busier than Sprouts, and I needed a lot more here. I restocked granola, peanut butter, yogurt, tuna, chick peas, and bagels. Had online coupons for Icelandic yogurt and Popwell soda. Raspberries and small containers of blueberries were on sale for a dollar each. PopCorners weren't on sale, so I grabbed the Acme's generic organic blue corn chips instead. They didn't have Fresca this time, so I grabbed another bottle of Sprite Zero & Tea.

I did cut through Newton Lake Park going home, but I went past the playground and the stone gazebo rather than down the back path (which is still partially being worked on). I could see some of the improvements that had made the park hard to navigate for the last few months. There was a sidewalk that now led from the street to the park path. The park itself is gorgeous, too. All that rain has made it largely emerald green and lush. The trees waved in the breeze on a hot, humid day as children and their parents ran around the new playground equipment.

Watched Remember WENN as I put everything away. Betty and Scott are eager to set up their own gossip show after a popular gossip columnist trumps their soap The Hands of Time in the ratings. Sponsor's wife Dusty Foxx (Rue McClanahan) claims she absolutely wants Hilary to star in her own gossip show...but what she really wants is Hilary off Hands of Time. Hilary is no Rona Barrett. Her gossip is all about her. When that show's canceled, Hilary becomes "The Diva Who Wouldn't Die" as she does everything she can possibly think of for her character Elizabeth to stay away from death's door.

"Behind Every Great Woman" also starts with a joint Scott-Betty idea that goes awry. This time, Betty wants to turn their arts magazine show into a music show featuring Hilary singing the latest hits of Monogram Records. Hilary, however, has stage fright at the last minute, prompting Betty to jump in and sing for her. She does so well, Hilary and Scott insist on her being Hilary's voice permanently. No one is happy about this, least of all Betty...especially when Broadway star Ruth Getty (Donna Murphy, the last of the three Broadway divas who guest-starred on WENN) turns up at the station and wants to sing with Hilary. 

Got my schedule at this point, too. In good news, more hours and two days off this time. In bad news, I'm working most of the week again, including another 8 1/2 hour day next Saturday. Either the head bagger is on vacation again, she's finally retiring, or she's doing a lot of cashiering this week. 

Spent the rest of the afternoon listening to quieter retellings of popular fairy tales on record. The Peter Pan Alice In Wonderland may be my favorite of their recordings that I have. Alice is hilarious, the characters are funny, and there's some nice songs. I especially like the dreamy title number and "The Queen Has Commanded" as Alice comments on the Queen of Hearts' crazy croquet game. (There's also the nifty book whose art style looks more like "Alice as interpreted by Marvel Comics in the 70's.") 

Douglas Fairbanks Jr provides the deep, resonating narration for Beauty and the Beast and Other Stories. Though "Beauty," based on the original Villenveuve French tale, is lovely, the stories on the other side are a bit more interesting. The Norwegian "The Princess On the Glass Hill" is a male Cinderella story that has a put-upon son gaining three different armor from three golden apples that allow him to ride up the title hill and save the royal lass. "The Boy Who Kept a Secret" from Hungary is the most unique of all. A young boy refuses to tell his secret for so long, he's shut up on a tower. The King's daughter takes pity on him and helps him out, but her father isn't as happy about it. 

Snow White and Rose Red and The Goose Girl starts with a charming musical retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales. Two sisters rescue a bear from a curse and try to help a fussy, mysterious gnome whose beard keeps getting caught everywhere. Celia Johnson of Brief Encounter narrates The Goose Girl. A servant forces a princess to trade roles with her and insists on her tending the geese. She keeps making the boy who works with her lose his hat, until he gets fed up, tells the prince she was supposed to have married, and convinces her to tell her confession to him behind locked doors.

Switched to Match Game '76 after dinner. Buzzr started with the last episode from the week featuring Bill Cullen and long-time Price Is Right model Janice Pennington. I swear, both the original and later sets of this show have minds of their own. At one point, the turntable with the contestants went the wrong way as it switched around to the Audience Match. Gene had to push it himself to fix it. The rest of the night was devoted to the week with Joey Bishop and soap star Janice Lynde, including Gene giving an eager Lynde her welcome to the show kiss.

Finished the night with Hart to Hart. Jennifer finds herself caught up in a "Highland Fling" when she interviews the elderly head of a Scottish clan, only for the man to supposedly die of a heart attack the next day. The ruthless head of an American corporation is awfully eager to become the head of the clan and get his hand on the crumbling family castle. The head of the Scottish Society nominates Jennifer to take over after it's discovered she might have a Scottish great-aunt. Jonathan smells a Scotch rat, especially after two more people attached to the Highland Games and the nomination for clan leader end up dead.

On the Boardwalk In Atlantic City

Began the morning with breakfast and He-Man. "The Curse of the Spellstone" allows it to control the weather. Evil Lynn passes herself off as a peasant woman who stirs up the population against Man-at-Arms and his new weather machine. She unleashes "The Creeping Horlac," a dark void creature that consumes the castle while He-Man, Battle Cat, Stratos, and Ram Man search for the Spellstone.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. It was much later than I planned on leaving, near quarter after 9. They arrived in 10 minutes and seemed to hit every red light on the way to the Lindenwald train station, but I did get there in time to buy tickets for the train. There were far fewer problems going home. The driver arrived in 5 minutes, and there was no traffic by quarter after 7. 

Thank heavens there was no trouble with the trains, either. The one going to Atlantic City was right on time, less than 10 minutes after I bought my tickets. They were quiet for 10 AM in the morning and not even remotely full. I must have missed the morning commuters. I watched the suburbs and scrub pine go by and listened to music on my cell phone.

When I arrived in Atlantic City, I saved time and spared my heel with a ride on the Jitney. These small green shuttle busses take tourists and locals from the hotels and casinos to points all over Atlantic City. The shuttle that goes from the train station to the casinos is free. Hopped right on the one going to Bally's, Caesar's, and the Claridge...and I'm glad I got there early, because it filled up pretty fast. There weren't many seats left when the driver headed off down Michigan Avenue.

The Jitney let me off at Brighton Park in front of the Claridge. Not only is the Claridge Hotel one of the few historic hotels left on the boardwalk, but the small park and vintage fountain give the Claridge the look of something out of an old romantic comedy. The park was a little messy, with some trash and old picnic tables, but it still looked like Clark Gable and Carole Lombard should have been staying there.

It was a gorgeous day for a stroll on the boardwalk. Blue sky, soft clouds, a wonderful breeze carrying that tangy sea air. It wasn't too busy around Brighton Park at 11 in the morning. Most people were working, on the beach, or sleeping off last night's debauchery. I even stood on a ramp looking over the beach at one point, watching families set up their blankets and blue umbrellas and take their children out to the bottle-green waves, remembering how my family spent almost every day at the Cape May beaches in the 80's. Homeless people sang sad songs (badly) on the benches behind the beach.

I finally just decided to have an early lunch at Landshark Bar and Grill first. It was the perfect day for eating outside. It was 11:30, so neither the beach nor the restaurant were too busy yet. I enjoyed my simple burger, pickle, and home-made chips while enjoying watching the families on the beach and listening to the few people around me chatter and enjoy each other's company.

My next stop was originally going to be Steel Pier, but I looked it up on my phone and discovered that it doesn't open until 2 PM on weekdays. Backtracked to the Central Pier Arcade instead. I had absolutely no luck whatsoever with their long rows of cranes, no matter how much I tried to win a stuffed pink female seagull with a bow on its head and a wavy French fry in its mouth. I did better with the Monopoly spin-the-dice game, skee ball, filling Icee cups as fast as I could, collect-the-ball games, and Doodle Bug (make a little green guy hop up through a sketchy themed world). 

I earned 745 tickets all together, thanks to hitting Park Place on Monopoly. Coupled with the tickets I had leftover from when Lauren visited in July and my solo trip last August, I had enough for another paper fan (green this time, with a pretty rose and bluebird print) and a small ladybug Squishmallow named Ladee with heart-print wings. Considering how much the kids at Thomas Sharp love to look for ladybugs in the mulch, it's rather appropriate that her tag says she's a first grade teacher who appreciates the value of nap time. 

Since it was only about 1 PM at that point, I returned to Steel Pier, but ducked into the arcade next-door. This one is much tinier than either Central Pier or Dave and Buster's. It consisted of a Yahtzee game, four cranes, two skee ball machines, two fishing-themed wheels, a Crusin' Blast machine (one half wasn't working), an Alien game, a Pac-Man/Galaga console, and several toss-the-ball-into-the-cup games. I tossed a lot of balls and made third on the working half of Crusin' Blast in a cherry-red Lamborghini running through the Death Valley course. I made 500 points and got a peculiar rubber fuzzy worm-thing that had a cheerful little face and lights up when you squeeze him.

Several families were waiting outside the gates to Steel Pier when I walked over. There were so many, they opened the gates a few minutes early. I wanted to ride the Observation Wheel, but it wasn't ready yet. I played a balloon toss game instead. I popped one balloon, enough to win a tiny pale aqua shark. She was such a little darling, with her big eyes and wide sweet smile, I couldn't bring myself to trade her up for something bigger. I named her Taffy (as in salt-water taffy) and returned to the Wheel instead.

The Wheel had opened by the time I got back there. I love the Observation Wheel. It's my favorite ride in Atlantic City. It's wonderful to glide in a wide, air-conditioned gondola over the city and see it the way a bird does! Atlantic City looks like Little People buildings from way up there. By that point, the beach was much busier too, a sea of dark-blue umbrellas that almost matched the Atlantic. There were a lot of people surfing or ducking the waves, cooling off on a warm, humid day.

After I got back on the ground, I tried my luck at a crane with Pokemon in it near the entrance to Steel Pier. When I came away with nothing, I decided it was time to start heading back. By this point, it was past 2 PM. The boardwalk was now teeming with people just out of lunch or the casinos and looking for excitement. Not to mention, even the breeze couldn't hide how humid it was. I was sweating bullets when I ducked into the smaller Fralinger's. They did have my favorite fruit slices this time. I bought two bags and a bottle of water.

I got off at Brighton Park and walked back to Michigan Avenue...but this time, I turned down Atlantic Avenue, passing Express and Ruth Chris Steakhouse to Dave & Buster's. The Atlantic City branch is smaller than the one at Blackwood and the pirate wheel was down, but it still has plenty of Pac Man skee ball, ring toss games, carnival-themed wheels, and ball toss games. I played Mario Kart here and came in second with Princess Peach on a Japanese-themed round that went underwater. Made just enough to get a Champ Bear with a little leftover for when I visit Lauren in late September-early October.

There was one last thing I wanted to do in Atlantic City before I headed to the train station. I stepped into Famous Footwear to see if they had Easy Spirits or something similar to run errands in. Nope. Not only were they busy with parents and college students looking for back to school shoes, but all they had were Reebox, Converses, and Nikes. I'm not a fan of any of them. Hit Starbucks for a quick Iced Orange Matcha Latte instead. At least they weren't busy this time. I walked in, got my drink, and walked out. Sat down on a bench, sipped my drink and watched a mother enjoy her own drinks with her two sons.

Considering all the trouble Lauren and I had getting home last month, I had no problems with the 4:59, either. It arrived on time and left about two minutes late, nothing to panic over. It did stop to let a train pass around Atco, but the delay wasn't much of a problem. This time, the train was busy with noisy, drunk college students who mentioned they were on their way to a concert. (I looked it up later and discovered they were likely going to a Foo Fighters show at Lincoln Financial Field.) I was originally going to take the PATCO to Collingswood or Westmont and pick up Uber from there, but there were so many drunk and loud college kids around the ticket kiosks when the train arrived, I thought I'd be safer elsewhere.

Ended up having breakfast for dinner at the Stratford Diner instead. I wanted to go here when Lauren came last month, but we got in so late, we went to Tim Horton's instead. I was able to enjoy my waffle with strawberries and scrambled eggs in peace, other than a fussy baby with his parents at the booth across from me.

Finished the night after I finally got home and took a shower with Let's Go Native on YouTube. I go further into this wacky 1930 comedy featuring Jeanette MacDonald and Jack Oakie as a broke costume designer and a cab driver stranded on a remote tropical island at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog.

Let's Go Native

Adventures On the Radio

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Bluey. Bingo is proud to bring puppet "Bob Bilby" home from school. The students are supposed to take photos of them having adventures with him and tape them in a scrapbook. At first, all they do is sit around and watch cartoons on iPads, until Bingo realizes that's not very interesting. That prompts the Heelers to head outside and make Bob's visit the best ever. Bluey, Bingo, and their friends play a "Spy Game" while their parents are at a barbecue. Bingo feels neglected and stops playing. Bluey realizes the game's not as much fun without her and coaxes her back.

Rode to work after Bluey ended. Absolutely no trouble today whatsoever. I arrived on time. It picked up slightly around 10, but otherwise, we were quiet the entire morning. It was a gorgeous, sunny, barely humid upper 80's day in August, and we're well between holidays. Most people are either still on vacation, at work, or getting ready for their kids to go back to school. I swept the store and put away cold items. Had help from 11 AM onwards from the afternoon bagger with the few carts that were around.

After I finished, I stopped at Acme's pharmacy to pick up my blood pressure medication and the antibiotics for my heel (the latter of which I forgot last week). Also grabbed a Bodyarmor drink and the strawberry and chocolate peanut butter Nature's Valley wafer bars on sale. 

Had lunch at Common Grounds Coffee House on the way home. They were busy with college kids getting ready for school, office workers doing business in a quiet place, and older ladies chatting. I had to share a table with someone else while I enjoyed my banana chip muffin, slice of tomato spinach feta quiche, and matcha latte. The muffin was nice and moist, but it didn't really taste much like banana. The quiche was really salty.

Changed, brought the trash can up, and put out the recycling when I got home, then watched Remember WENN. It's "Some Good News, Some Bad News" when Scott declares an all-news day. He couldn't have picked a worse day for it. They can't find any news to report, and Scott's attempt to make his own gets him into very hot water. Meanwhile, bubbly former stripper Maple LaMarsh (Carolee Caramello) replaces Eugenia as the station's organist for the rest of the season.

Hilary's mentor Giels Aldrych (Roddy McDowell) says "Don't Act Like That" when he tries to give the WENN staff acting lessons, only to realize how different radio and stage acting are. Scott arranges for two of his students, Enid Farleigh (Melissa Dye) and Gus Kahana (Jeff Bergman), to work there as interns. The staff rebels at first, until they realize how much the duo have to learn about radio acting.

Spent the next few hours finishing Donna Parker: Mystery at Arawak, starting The Penderwicks, and listening to old-time radio shows. The Green Hornet was a kind of less-weird variation on Batman. He too drove a sleek black car ("Black Beauty"), had a devoted young companion (his valet Kato, who is Filipino in these later episodes), and worked as a non-powered vigilante with a host of gadgets. Unlike Batman, his "real" identity was a working man, newspaper editor Britt Reid, and he tended to take on far less florid gangsters and fraudulent executives.  People saw him as a villain, which he used to his advantage to coerce crooks to turn themselves in or victims to come forward and speak out. "Paid In Full" from 1945 and "Escape to Action" from 1946 are pretty typical examples of the show. 

Started I Love a Mystery, but switched to Match Game '76 during dinner. They finished out the week with Pat Delaney, Betty White, and Orson Bean. When the wrong sign came down on set, Orson commented that he'd seen better-excuted shows at the Kiwanis Club. Later in the week, a former teacher who won big money was so excited, he did high kicks Gene Kelly would have envied.

Returned to I Love a Mystery later. I Love a Mystery is a far different example of action on the radio. Here, private eyes Jack Packard, Doc Long, and Reggie York go on bizarre adventures, taking them from vampire-filled temples to Arizona ghost towns. Alas, of the serials done for the show's original run on NBC and CBS in 1940 and its 1949 Mutual revival, only two from the Mutual series still exist in full today. 

I listened to one of those existing serials, "The Thing That Cries In the Night." The guys are hired by an old woman to protect her three daughters and drunkard son Joe. Faith is sarcastic, Hope chases the family's chauffeur, and paranoid Charity is convinced someone is out to get her and her family. She keeps hearing a wailing noise like a baby in the night and thinks it's a harbinger of death. The guys don't agree, until they see Charity get slashed, and then someone kills Joe and tries to kill their grandmother. Jack knows there's something strange going on, but he hopes he can find out, for Charity's sake, before it's too late for everyone in that household. (Keep an ear out for a young Tony Randall as Reggie.) 

Night of the Mall Hospital

Began the morning with breakfast and Doc McStuffins. "The Doctor Will See You Now" takes Doc to her mother's office for her own checkup. She and her toys discover that kids aren't playing with the toys in the waiting room because they're covered in a strange, sticky, colorful substance. She has to explain to a Play Doh head that keeps shaking his clay hair about how easy it is to spread germs and messes around. Stuffed owl Professor Hootenburgh challenges Donny's learning toy Lil' Egghead to see who is the smarter toy, but "Lil' Egghead Fees the Heat" and starts giving wrong answers. Doc gets him out of the sun and reminds him that humans and electronics need to stay cool. 

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. Alas, the first driver going there canceled. By the time the second one got me to Moorestown, I was 10 minutes late. Getting home from Stacks On 38 was a lot easier. The driver arrived in less than a minute! Thank heavens, no traffic either way, not even on Route 38 in Pennsauken.

Oversleeping and being 10 minutes late was the worst thing that happened all day. They called for me about 5 minutes after I checked in, and the doctor came 5 minutes after the nurse checked my blood pressure. Dr. Gouda originally wanted me to wear a boot for three weeks. I can't do that. I called out of work enough in the winter when my knee was so stiff. We finally compromised on wearing a boot to bed and doing physical therapy. 

And if there's one good thing about all of these new hospitals and health care offices that have been opening everywhere, it's getting state-of-the-art health care. Everything in the hospital was new and modern, from the smooth gray wood floor to the comfortable tan, gray, and red furniture in the huge, spacious lobby. Even the chair in the doctor's room was comfortable and had padding instead of just papers laid on the vinyl.

Cooper University Health Care opens up into the Moorestown Mall. The only store open when I finished my appointment around 10 was Boscov's. I did need something there that I hadn't bought on vacation. My underwire bras were all bent out of shape and uncomfortable and needed to be replaced. The problem is, I don't like the padded ones that are more common now. I come with plenty of my own padding, thank you! I chose two from Vanity Fair that looked comfortable and one from Warners, all for 30 percent off.

After I bought them, I made my way around the Mall and across Route 38 to Stacks On 38 (just barely missing the huge lawn mower cutting the grass on the meridian). Stacks On 38 is a breakfast place situated on the edge of the Homegoods/Marshalls shopping center. They were busy when I arrived, not surprising since it was barely past 11, but I did get a table by the windows. Had three delicious crepes filled with apple compote and topped with whipped cream and powdered sugar. The turkey bacon was limp, but edible. Listened to four Cooper Health doctors and nurses doing work on their laptops at the table in front of me.

When I got home, I colored a picture of Strawberry leaving for Big Apple City in my vintage Strawberry Shortcake coloring book and watched Remember WENN. We open the second season with "Radio Silence." Jeff Singer survived the London bombings and is being sent home. Victor Comstock wasn't that lucky. Devastated that she never got to tell him how she felt about him, Betty goes into seclusion, writing scripts where nothing bad happens and insisting on a minute of silence for Victor every hour. Scott tries to tell the distraught young woman that you can't live your life drowning in grief, but it's Jeff who finally gets through to her when he returns.

Hilary's absolutely delighted that Jeff came home to her...maybe a little too much. They've gone from constantly bickering to reciting baby talk on their morning shows and making everyone at the station and in their audience nauseous. They finally say "I Now Pronounce You Man and Wife Again" when they get remarried in Mexico...and instantly regret it. Meanwhile, Scott convinces organist Eugenia Bremer to take over their new late night show. (Which will take her out of the remaining second season.)

Switched to Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood while I finished coloring. "Daniel Asks Before Touching Someone Else" is one of two brand-new episodes currently on the PBS Kids website. Daniel loves going to the playground with his little sister Margaret, but is baffled when she doesn't want a hug. Mrs. Tiger tells him he has to ask when touching someone, as they might be sensitive about it. Prince Wednesday asks Daniel when he wants a push on the swings. "Jodi Asks Before Touching Someone Else" when she wants to touch Miss Elania's new braids, and she doesn't appreciate that. Likewise, O the Owl isn't big on someone touching his back and asks to be the caboose in their kid train.

Went down for a nap after Daniel ended. I was up way too late last night and had that early appointment this morning. The boot was not the most comfortable thing to sleep in! I know my heel needs to be stretched, but it didn't feel great. Somehow or other, I managed to doze off until 4 PM.

Watched Summer School on Pluto TV after I finished reading a few chapters of Donna Parker: Mystery At Arawak. Physical education teacher Freddie Shoop (Mark Harmon) is not looking forward to teaching remedial English to a disparate group of high school kids, including a whiny geek who is the only underachiever in his family (Richard Horviz), a pregnant girl (Shawnee Smith), a surf-crazy girl who is living with her aunt and uncle (Courtney Thorne-Smith), and two best buddies who are the world's biggest fans of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Gary Riley and Dean Cameron). 

Shoop has no idea what to do with them. He first takes them on field trips, then promises to do things for them if they study. That ends when one of the horror fans ruins his car, their wild party destroys his couch, and the besotted surfer girl tries to move in. He has the obnoxious vice principal (Robin Thomas) breathing down his neck, even as he pursues the attractive history teacher (Kirstie Alley) who is in the room next to his. When the kids try to get more favors, he understandably blows a gasket. The kids bring him back and convince him that he's the only one who can help them show just how much they've learned.

On one hand, a lot of this is very typical of its era and movies of this type. Most of the kids are relatively bland, and a lot of the shenanigans seen here aren't all that different from other teen movies of this era like One Crazy Summer. There's also a few aspects that haven't dated well, notably Shoop's constant pursuit of Robin when she keeps saying "no" and the surfer girl living with Shoop briefly (even Robin calls him on that one). On the other hand, there's some surprisingly realistic touches. The pregnant girl's story is handled in a fairly realistic and sensitive manner. There's also the results of that final test. None of the kids suddenly turn into geniuses, but they do improve. Honestly, if you're a fan of Harmon or of the slobs vs snobs comedies of the 80's, this has enough pluses to be worth checking out on a hot summer day.

I decided to do something different for dinner after my heavy brunch. I dragged my food processor up from the basement, brought down a can of chickpeas and my peanut butter, added olive oil, salt, and pepper, and made hummus. Sliced celery, added a few Cherry tomatoes and PopCorners, and loaded them onto a plate. Not bad, considering I haven't made this in a long time. It was a quick, healthy dinner, anyway.

Ate dinner while watching Match Game '76. Most of the night finished out the week with Scoey Mitchelll and Susan Howard. By the time Gene was helping a woman who ran an egg-based restaurant with the Audience Match, they'd switched to Orson Bean, Betty White, and character actress Pat Delaney.

Finished the night back at Pluto TV with The Wild Wild West. It's "The Night of the Two-Legged Buffalo" when Jim and Artemis are supposed to protect a spoiled prince (Nick Adams) from a remote tropical island whose father wants to make a treaty with the US. The prince only cares about living the good life at fancy spas and lavish hunting lodges. The prince, however, is walking right into a den of assassins who definitely don't want that treaty to go through. Jim has Artie act as a decoy, at least until they realize who's really behind the assassination attempts. 

Outdoor Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Monchichis. Wizzer sends the Monchichis to the underground to visit his friend, the king of a valley city, and use his golden disc to power his potion. To their shock, they land in a swamp that covers the city. Neither the current king nor his subjects claim to remember the disc, but one little rebel helps them reveal the "Swamp Secret" and rescue their king from the Grumplins.

Made a quick errand run after the cartoon ended. I thought it would be easier on my heel to do it on the bike. Not to mention, the weather wasn't really appropriate for lingering. It was cooler than yesterday, but a bit cloudy and still humid. I wanted to get cheap moisture eliminators with charcoal, but I couldn't find them at Dollar General or Family Dollar. I did get pads at Family Dollar, but other than that, I picked up nothing else.

Put on Remember WENN after I got home. "Popping the Question" has Scott Sherwood recruiting Betty to help him set up his new game show...which he wants to fix in favor of the sponsor's son. Betty and the others show him the importance of keeping their shows honest. Meanwhile, the other male staff members grill sweet-natured lawyer Doug Thompson (Matthew Bennett), who is waiting (and waiting) to take Betty out.

The first season finale "World of Tomorrow" has Scott and Betty creating a big Wizard of Oz-inspired show for the end of the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. The cast is so excited about being heard in New York, they refuse to cooperate or speak their roles as written. Meanwhile, Victor called Jeff away to broadcast with him in war-torn London. Scott does manage to find a way for Jeff to be a part of their show...shortly before the signal from London is cut off by static...

While there are episodes I like from before Victor left, notably "Armchair Detectives" and "A Rock and a Soft Place," I think the show really picks up with Scott's introduction. Scott and his cons are frankly a lot more interesting than the well-meaning but often distracted and standoffish Victor, and he really gives those last three episodes a major shot in the arm. That heartbreaking cliffhanger ending on "World of Tomorrow," however, is a taste of what's to come as the pace picks up in the second season...

Made pancakes for lunch downstairs after WENN ended. I still have plenty of buckwheat mix left. At least I found the eggs this time! I accidentally put more dried cranberries in than originally planned when I meant to sprinkle them in, and ended up dumping almost the whole container. At least they still tasted nice spread with peanut butter and honey.

Went upstairs after I cleaned up from lunch to watch White Heat. Psychotic gangster Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) would do anything to be "on top of the world," including leaving his own man for dead after he's scorched by steam during a railroad robbery. His Ma (Margaret Wycherley) is the only one who can calm his headaches and his hare-trigger temper. His wife Verna (Virginia Mayo) certainly can't. He barely listens to her. After he gets himself into prison for a smaller crime, he's rescued from an attempt on his life by Vic Pardo (Edmund O'Brian). He trusts him so much, he lets him tag along when he breaks out after he learns his mother was killed. He wants to pull one last heist, but Vic isn't what he seems. Cody, however, has no desire to go down anywhere but on "Top of the world, Ma"

Cagney gives one of his best performances in this dark and intense gangster film. He's genuinely terrifying, especially when he suddenly screams and has a breakdown after he learns about his mother's death and in the action-packed finale. Virginia Mayo proves she's more than a cute blonde from Goldwyn musicals as his conniving wife, while Wycherley is appropriately witchy as his adoring mother. This isn't for kids, but if your teens on up are fans of Cagney or crime movies, this is one of the best in the genre.

Needed something lighter after that, so I switched to One Crazy Summer. Hoops McCann (John Cusack) joins his best friend George (Joel Murphy) at Nantucket Island in Massachusetts for some fun in the sun and  inspiration for Hoops' romantic comic. Hoops falls for musician Cassandra Eldridge (Demi Moore) on the way to the island. She's trying to make enough money to buy her grandfather's boarding house before obnoxious seafood restaurant owner Aguilla Beckerstead (Mark Metcalf) tears it down to build luxury condos. Hoops first ends up on a date with Cookie (Kimberly Foster), the girlfriend of Beckerstead's spoiled, lazy son Teddy (Matt Mulhern), but things really pick up when he and his friends promote Cassandra's big show. After Beckerstead buys the boarding house anyway, they enter the local regatta to win the trophy and prove that the misfits who work together, kick jerk rear together.

This old childhood favorite is a bizarre variation on the "slobs vs snobs" comedies of the 1980's and early 90's. Some of it occasionally borders on black comedy at times, including where George constantly ends up while the others pursue women on the beach, Hoops' decidedly unromantic comics, and George's Uncle Frank (Bruce Wagner) who has literally been driven crazy trying to win one million dollars on a radio call-in show. If you have older kids and teens around, they might be the best audience for the wacky hijinks on this weird take on love, boating, and wild summer vacations.

Moved to Match Game '76 during dinner. Susan Howard, now best-known for her appearances on Dallas, made her first appearance here. Scoey Mitchelll has a rougher time in the first seat, even as he admires the lady contestants. Fannie Flagg and Brett Somers have more fun teasing each other.

(Oh, and it also rained at this point. I even heard a rumble of thunder. I don't think it rained too heavily, though, just enough to make it a little wet.) 

Finished the night on YouTube with game shows that were filmed or set outdoors. Usually, when one thinks of game shows, they think of massive indoor sets and bright lights and neon. Occasionally, a show, usually a stunt show, would take the games outdoors to the fresh air. Wild and Crazy Kids on Nickelodeon, for instance, had kids (and sometimes parents) competing in stunts around two different locations. Though they are in a mall in this episode, they're also outside, trying to get their remote control cars to avoid being smashed and being hit in the face with cream pies.

The Diamond Head Game from 1975 may have been one of the first game shows to film outdoors. Bob Eubanks asks contestants (three in this early episode from before the format changed) quiz questions. The winner earns the right to climb Diamond Head while remembering items Bob mentions on a list. The winner steps into the "Money Volcano," where they grab at dollar bills blown up at them. They might grab money or even prizes. Bob lets them keep the money or keep going for more.

Um, yeah. No wonder this only lasted 7 months in syndication and went through two different formats. The attractive outdoor filming is pretty much all this one has going for it. Even Bob Eubanks later admitted on Card Sharks in 1988 that he hated doing it.

Kids did better outside. Destroy Build Destroy is one of two live-action shows to survive the bloodbath that was the short-lived CN Real on Cartoon Network. Two teams of kids design and build a vehicle, using scrap from a car they blew up earlier. Winner gets money and to blow up the losers' vehicle. No wonder they kept this one. Not only is it every kid's fantasy to blow up a vehicle, but watching the kids design, build, and drive their own vehicles is fascinating and hilarious. 

The Canadians took a quieter approach to outdoor game shows. Race Against the Tide pitted ten teams of artists against one another to build the most beautiful and creative sand sculptures at the New River Beach Provincial Park in New Brunswick. As someone who grew up watching artists make equally elaborate sand sculptures on the beaches in Cape May and Wildwood, it was really cool to watch these people at work and see what they came up with. 

Wild West Showdown is my favorite of the many mid-90's American Gladiators imitators. This syndicated action show pits three cowboys and cowgirls against each other to see who can do the best cleaning up a fictional western town. Honestly, watching would-be sheriffs stop runaway stagecoaches, compete in paint-ball shootouts, and try to dodge outlaws while jumping on logs is a heck of a lot more interesting than watching two muscle-bound jocks try to knock each other off a platform.

Star Games from 1985 was very similar to the Battle of the Network Stars specials from the 1970's. Teams of celebrities from various games of the time compete in outdoor events like swimming, tennis, cycling, and track and field. Not only is it fun to watch these folks compete outside of their usual setting, but you get to hear about shows like the short-lived Miami Vice-esque newspaper drama Impulses that don't often get mentioned nowadays. The guys from that show are joined by two Miss Universes; they play teams from Different Strokes and Growing Pains. 

Take a summer vacation to a dude ranch, the beach, the mall, or Hawaii without leaving home in these hilarious and unique shows!

The Diamond Head Game (1975)

Star Games (1985)

Wild and Crazy Kids (1991)

Wild West Showdown (1995)

Destroy Build Destroy (2010)

Race Against the Tide (2023)