Fantasy Games

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and Richie Rich. "The Blur" is the Riches short. A strange blur steals all the jewels and valuables in Rich Manor, until Richie, Gloria, and Dollar figure out what it really is and put a stop to it. The first Gems short has Richie doing calculations on an enormous (and smart-mouthed) computer. He pulls money out of a huge piggy bank for Dollar in the second. Dollar hides from his "Cur Wash" in the Treasures Chest story, but he keeps getting dirty. The Zillion Dollar Adventure takes Richie, Gloria, and Dollar to Australia when Richie's friend says his father has been arrested for stealing gold from the Rich Australian mines. Richie learns "The Kangaroo Hop" to find out who's really behind the thefts.

After I made the bed, I spent the next few hours taking down the Halloween decorations and putting up what I have for Thanksgiving. I've really found some great stuff for this holiday from thrift shops in the past few years. The small Pilgrim teddy I picked up in Philadelphia this summer is joined by a larger girl Pilgrim bear that Jodi gave me from Dad's collection after he died. Three stuffed turkeys, one smaller, one with dangling beaded legs, also came from Dad's house. Cartoony Plymouth the Turkey and more realistic Mayflower are leftover from when I collected Webkinz in the late 2000's-early 2010's. The small stuffed Pilgrim and Indian girl and Pilgrim resin figures are thrift shop finds, as are the porcelain turkey Pilgrim salt and pepper shakers.

Listened to records while I worked. Story and Songs About Walt Disney's Three Little Pigs is what it says on the tin. Sterling Holloway lends his folksy voice to vocal versions of the three Silly Symphony cartoons. The pigs have normal female voices and the wolf a rather goofy, deep voice, neither from the original cartoons. The stories are pretty much more-or-less as they are in the shorts...alas including some of the more disturbing attributes of the final short, like Practical using a lie detector on the wolf and having him spanked. 

Despite being listed as "the voices from the original soundtrack album," The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm is really more of a book and record. Charles Ruggles narrates the three stories from the film, "The Dancing Princess" (a version of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"), "The Elves and the Shoemaker," and "The Singing Bone," along with the wrap-around story detailing how the Brothers Grimm became better known for their fairy tales than their scholarly works. I reviewed the film back in 2021 and thoroughly enjoyed it. (And I'm not the only one. They did finally release that Blu-ray I mention in the review later in 2021, and it apparently came out beautifully.) 

You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown isn't one of the better-known Peanuts specials today, but its soundtrack does have a few numbers worth checking out. "Joe Cool" made its debut here, in a vocal version performed by Vince Guaraldi himself. "Incumbent Waltz" and "Cookin' Snoopy" are also fun, and there's the bonus "African Sleigh Ride" on Side B.

Hurried off even before the record ended. I needed money at WaWa. Since I hadn't eaten, I grabbed a "mini meal" pack with a boiled egg, cubed cheddar, grapes, sliced apples, and really tasty chia corn chips too. Grabbed them and headed down the White Horse Pike to Thomas Sharp.

Good thing I made it just in time. 18 kids were waiting in the hall for the music class to end when I arrived. At least there was a ton of help dealing with them. In addition to me, the head teacher, and two regular teachers, there was the woman helping with one of the kindergarten boys. I ate lunch as they had their snacks, then colored with them until it was time to go outside. Even with all of the teachers there, they spent way too much time squabbling over who would swing with whom. They all want to swing with their best friends, which means people whose friends would rather be running around have no one to go on with. I'd go on with them, which would bring someone running over to the swing. At least all but one kid made it on before the sun started going down and we had to go inside. There was so much help, they let me go early after I finished coloring a cute picture of pumpkins showing off different emotions.

I did chores and brought the laundry downstairs, then went upstairs to watch Match Game '78. Buzzr skipped ahead into the first episodes of the new year with Gary Burghoff, Jo Ann Pflug, and Fannie Flagg. Female Sweathog Helaine Lembeck turned up the next week, with Dick Martin and Betty White.

Finally brought the laundry upstairs, then finished the night with some of the more unique American Gladiators imitations of the 1990's. The show debuted in syndication in 1989, and with its normal people fighting colorfully-dressed "gladiators" in wild stunts, rapidly became one of the most popular syndicated shows of the early 90's. Its wild success inspired other fantasy competition shows in the early-mid 90's, like Knights and Warriors from 1992. This one takes a medieval theme as the comedic "gladiators" are replaced by stereotypical fantasy villains, like evil princesses and crazed barbarians. The stunts also have a mild fantasy theme, including the attempt to joust and knock a villain off a pedestal and shoot the "villains" with bows and arrows. 

Wild West Showdown from 1994 was one of the more interesting of the fantasy action game shows. Here, the villains are outlaws and the contestants are three cowboys and cowgirls riding in to clean up the fictional western town. This is by far my favorite of the four shows I watched tonight. They really get into the theming here, with a reporter interviewing the contestants after the round to get their opinion, a cowboy narrator explaining the back story behind the town, and creative stunts that mirror what a real western sheriff might have done. 

Also from 1994, Beach Clash stayed outside but moved to the beaches of Los Angeles for outdoor stunts played by two teams from different American cities. In the episode I have, the Seattle Sea Otters battle it out with the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks for dominance in volleyball, riding around waves on a raft, kayaking, and climbing "hills." 

Battle Dome debuted in 1999, long after American Gladiators and its imitations had come and gone. This one really owed more to the popularity of another violent sport, professional wrestling, in the 90's than to Gladiators. Contestants debuted to noisy, bombastic theme music and had their own female partners. Unlike the other shows, the only women who competed were in a one-off week. Men fought in far more dangerous stunts like the "battle wheel" and Arial Kickboxing. Despite being late to the party, it did manage to run two years, mostly on the strength of cross-promotions like their rivalry with the WCW.

Battle in a medieval castle, the Wild West, the beach, and a wrestling arena and see what it takes for these cowgirls and cowboys, knights, and beach bums to come out on top!

Knights and Warriors (1992)

Beach Clash (1994)

Wild West Showdown (1994)

Battle Dome (1999)

The Boss and the Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and Madonna. Something To Remember is actually a collection of Madonna's more popular ballads, plus two movie songs that hadn't been seen elsewhere, "I'll Remember" and "This Used to Be My Playground." "Rain," "Crazy for You," and "Live to Tell" were three more earlier hits that made it here. The big hit recorded directly for the album was "You'll See." She also does well by an eerie version of "I Want You." 

Called Uber even before Madonna ended. I didn't want to take my bike after a seven-hour shift. I think I made the right call. The one going to the Acme arrived in 5 minutes. The one going home came in 6. No trouble there. I was even a little bit early.

That was about the only thing that did go right during my entire shift. The entire day was a mess. It wasn't bad when I got in at 9, but by 10:30-11, we were mobbed. I was alone for most of the morning and kept falling behind with the carts. Even after they pulled one of the college boys to help, we were still behind. I had to clean up a ginger ale spill alone at one point. Later on, one lady refused to pay for her large order and just dumped the cart up front, which meant I lost that college boy when he had to put it away. About the only good thing I can say is the weather continues to be nice, and in fact, too warm for this time of year, in the lower 70's. Otherwise, I was very happy to get out of there.

In fact, I was so tired and angry and fed up when I got home, I went straight into bed for a nap. I went down at 4:30 and didn't get up again until almost 6. I did feel a little better afterwards, but I'm still pretty tired.

Tonight's YouTube marathon had already started when I got on. Producer Mark Goodson was the face of his company for many years. He was the one who actually went on the shows, made announcements and appeared with the staff. He was a Mystery Guest or panelist many times on What's My Line, including once where he appeared with his long-time partner (who mostly handled the business side of things) Bill Todman. In fact, Goodson proved to be a charming host in his own right when he hosted What's My Line at 25 with John Daly and Arlene Francis, a special showing often-hilarious clips from the best moments in the very long history of that show.

He turned up three times on Match Game. The first was in 1974, to give Gene a bag for his needlepoint in honor of the great job he was doing and how popular the show was. He appeared a little later in 1974 to sit in briefly for Charles Nelson Reilly when he was late to a taping "getting his hair nailed on." His last appearance was New Year's Eve 1976 with a speech thanking everyone for the show's continuing success and to read a joke question about "old man Gene" hosting Match Game '99. (Which, alas, he did not. Goodson died in '92, Gene in 1999.)

Goodson was generally only seen during big anniversaries and major events. He appeared on The Price Is Right for their 19th and 20th anniversaries. In fact, their 20th anniversary show in September 1991 was one of his last appearances before he died. Earlier on Family Feud, he crowned Richard Dawson king on their 7th anniversary, praised the job the staff was doing on their 5th, and read the results of a poll on Richard's habit of kissing all the ladies. Goodson also anchored the male team during the Feud "Hollywood Walk of Fame" week. Betty White anchored the ladies.

Speaking of Betty, one of the few surviving episodes of the 1971-1975 ABC Password run is the series finale. Sam Mellville and Kate Jackson of The Rookies were the last two celebrities helping ladies guess and bet on different words. When they finished, four members of the staff (many of whom would eventually work on Feud as well) played each other. Goodson gave Allen the Tank Watch he talked about so much during his and Betty's week together in 1975 on Match Game. Betty was there by Allen's side as they talked about how they met on Password and the show came to an end. 

In 1991, Goodson got another chance at the host's chair when Alex Trebek ran out of To Tell the Truth because his wife was having a baby. Goodson proved to be quite suited to it, actually. He certainly did the show no harm. He actually got some interesting stories, including one about a woman who became a Wall Street broker while still in her teens and a millionaire by 21 and a man who flew around the world on a seaplane. 

Find out more about the face behind so many beloved shows in this often hilarious and sometimes touching marathon!

Sunday Game Show Classics - Mark Goodson on Set

Halloween Harvest

Started off the morning with the Halloween material from Colliers Harvest of Holidays. "The Blue-Nosed Witch" is a scatterbrained young sorceress who is always late to her flight formations. She sets her clock so far back on Halloween, she ends up trick-or-treating with the local kids. A young witch and her friends accidentally make "The Water Nixie" appear when they really want a fairy. She's more concerned about how she's going to get past her older witch guardian and go to school. There's also two long poems on Halloween spooks and trick-or-treating.

Watched The Scooby Doo Show at Tubi during breakfast. "The Headless Horseman of Halloween" invades a party Mystery Inc is attending at Crane Manor. Turns out the manor was built on the very place where a Hessian solider lost his head during the Revolutionary War. When the head and a priceless diamond necklace go missing, Mystery Inc explores a spooky graveyard to figure out what's going on.

Hurried out after the cartoon ended. I had a lot to do today, starting with a quick stop at PNC for money so I could hit the Collingswood Farm Market. I haven't been there in ages! The late fall produce is out now, cauliflower, hearty greens, cranberries, apples, potatoes, pears, and winter squash, but there were still plenty of late summer fruits and veggies out, too. I ended up with little apples, cranberries, Cherry tomatoes for sandwiches and snacking, red table grapes, and spelt wheat bread from one of the bakery booths. Got a pumpkin spice latte cream bar from the Bubba's Creamery cart for a treat. Said "hi" to one of the little girls from the after-school class, her baby brother, and her mom and wished them Happy Halloween!

Headed to the Westmont Acme next. They were a lot busier than I thought they'd be, considering it's the last day of the month. I did dodge shoppers long enough to restock yogurt, soda, Swiss cheese, cookies, and fruit preserves. I didn't want to buy 4 granola bar boxes, but the Nature Valley Wafers were a fairly reasonable regular price. Grabbed caramel apple lollipops and Starburst green apple lollipops (the later already on clearance) to give trick-or-treaters. Veggie chips were also a really good regular price.

Target was almost as busy. They have Slice flavors that are exclusive to them. I grabbed their version of Mountain Dew, Pacific Pop. Granola bars are cheaper here, too. Got another bag of candy here as well, white "Ghost" Reeces cups. Also got a small Iced Pumpkin Matcha Latte at Starbucks.

Sprouts was only slightly less busy than everyone else. Mainly picked up oat milk and bulk dried cranberries here. Found bakery chocolate chip cookies and Bob's Red Mill granola on really good clearance sales. Got the shredded chicken here when I couldn't find it at the Acme.

When I got home, I put everything away, then ate a quick lunch while watching the first of two Match Game Productions Halloween marathons on YouTube today. The one early in the afternoon showcased a wide variety of Halloween game show episodes. I came mid-way through the 1991 Family Feud episode with Ray Combs dressed as a very unlikely Robin Hood. Stuck around for the classic Match Game '90 Halloween episode and the 1988 Super Password Halloween episode with Christoper Hewitt and Edie McClurg. They were just starting the Classic Concentration Halloween episode when I realized how late it was getting. 

Here's the entire marathon anyway, so you can celebrate Halloween weekend game show style!

Trick or Treat: Happy Halloween (Spooktacular Marathon 2026)

I got into my black cat costume and put on the makeup, then took the candy and Mystery Bags, my stuffed black cat Luna, the purple pumpkin I used for my black cat table yesterday, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Stories and went outside to sit on the stoop. It was a gorgeous day to just sit on the stoop and read, regardless of what else was going on. It was in the upper 60's, sunny, breezy, and bright blue. Couldn't have been a nicer Halloween.

Due to it being Saturday, Oaklyn's trick-or-treat started at 1...but the kids didn't really start coming out until around quarter of 3. And when they came, they came in droves. I saw so many great costumes! There was a teen Scooby Doo group, with Velma and Shaggy and Fred. There was a darling pink and blue spider princess, a girl Chuckie, a mom witch and Chuckie, and a little girl Jessie the Cowgirl. One little boy really got into his Ghostbusting, pretending to "bust" the ghost hanging on the house behind me. Saw Spider Man, Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and a Winnie the Pooh group with a dad Pooh, mom Piglet, sister Tigger, and baby Eeyore. The toddler boy from the Incredibles group was so eager to use his jack o'lantern sticker, he stuck it on the side of his pumpkin candy bucket right away. (I hope he didn't lose it.) There was a random Gandolf with a huge walking stick and an adorable mini Meridia with her parents as bears and lots of pretty princesses. 

There were so many kids out, I was giving candy away right up until 10 minutes before it was supposed to end at 6. The Mystery Bags vanished in less than an hour. In fact, we gave away all the Mystery Bags, all of the leftover jack o'lantern stickers and spider rings from the Mystery Bags, the five bags of candy I bought today, and candy leftover from a friend's party yesterday that she gave me. All that was left by the time I finally got out the door was a quarter of the huge bag of candy my friend had.

The sun was just going down when I started across the White Horse Pike to West Clinton. Had a really quick pizza dinner at Phillies Phatties. I ate a slice of cheese and a slice of mushroom while listening to a family in Star Wars costumes (a Leia mom, a Jedi dad, and two brothers as Darth Vader and a stormtrooper) and three teen girls in very short skirts as characters from Clueless. I loved the huge flowered hat I suspect was home-made that one girl wore with her houndstooth suit. 

I was surprised to see the parade was already lining up when I finished dinner. For some reason, it started at 6:30 this year instead of 7. Maybe they didn't want the kids waiting around that long. I'd never seen so many people at the Halloween Parade! There was a tiny, adorable Elmo, Willy Wonka and Veruca, a girl Stitch, a dad Sonic, a little boy Shadow, two elementary school Pikachus, and another Spider Man. One boy wore a really nifty home-made volcano costume. Another was dressed as a Krispy Kreame donut box. One of the pre-teen girls was a gorgeous dead bride. There was a mini toddler cop, Lightning McQueen in a Cars push-cart, and an utterly adorable two-year-old Maverick from Top Gun with his Kelly Preston mom. 

Another pre-teen girl was a spot-on Mary Poppins (and deserved the 1st place prize she got), and there was a darling Batgirl, a cute mini Dolly Pardon, and a lovely little Cinderella. A Nintendo group had a bubbly Princess Peach mom, a Mario dad, a big sister Luigi, and a little sister Toad. Jack Skelleton towered over the crowd on stilts, accompanying an adorable little Sally. A mom and dad were Seymour and Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors, complete with a plastic Audrey II in a flower pot. Twin Wolverines showed off their claws for the crowd. An elementary-school age Lisa Simpson played her inflatable saxophone. A really creative Beetlejuice group had a mom bride Lydia in red, a dad Shrunken Head man, and a teen sister Beetlejuice. One of the teenagers was a severed head on a plate. (Incidentally, the Shrunken Head Man deservedly won the adult division, followed by Audrey and Seymour.)

(I am disappointed that I never ran into Rose and Finley tonight. Maybe they were busy, or they didn't realize the parade started at 6:30 instead of 7. I'll have to call Rose soon to see what's going on with her.)

Did a few chores when I got home, washed off my makeup, and put the pieces of my black cat costume away before watching this year's Match Game Halloween marathon. The closest they got to a Halloween episode on the 1973-1982 run of the show was the episode where Charles showed up late and Mark Goodson sat in for him. They asked a question about what Charles would dress as for Halloween. Questions about vampires, monsters, Frankenstein, and what they all did in their spare time abounded, though, especially as it allowed Gene to indulge in his idea of a Bela Lugosi accent. Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour actually started on Halloween. The rare pilot episode is included here. 

Halloween 1990 wasn't the only episode where people dressed in costume, either. Gene turned up in an old man wig in one syndicated episode, claiming he was Old Man Periwinkle. (He was really showing off his wig for a stage Christmas Carol he did with Bill Cullen.) Another time, his head was wrapped like a mummy. Jon Bauman did the Match Game '78 and syndicated episodes in his goofy greaser "Bowser" persona, complete with jokes about his heavily pomaded hair. Gary Burghoff imitated Frankenstein in one episode, lumbering after Gene. 

Nighttime episodes had even more fun with Halloween jokes. There were Dracula questions on the PM episode with the contestant who looked like Barry Manilow. Bill Anderson, Debralee Scott, and Jonelle Allen did a hilarious spoof of the then-common commercials for K-Tel rock collections. Brett and Charles used the Audience Match "__ Minded" to tease each other in another episode.

Come to the wildest Halloween party ever at Television City and Prospect Studios with these ghoulishly hilarious episodes!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Halloween Costume Party Marathon 2026

Finished the night with It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Linus is excited about this year's big (non) visit from the Great Pumpkin and spends his Halloween waiting for the elusive visitor in a "sincere" pumpkin patch. Against her better judgement, Sally joins him. Meanwhile, Charlie Brown has trouble trick-or-treating, Lucy gets zinged at a costume party, and Snoopy spends Halloween preparing for Veteran's Day fighting the Red Baron.

And I hope you have a wonderful Halloween weekend, with all the ghouls and goblins you love to match with!

The Boo Bash

Started off a gorgeous late morning with breakfast and Spidey & the Avengers: Halloween Team Up! Spider Man and several Avengers are setting up a big Halloween party for a local community center when they're called to help a professor at a museum. Seems his cauldron is suddenly bouncing around. Iron Man and Spidey remove a jewel on top and accidentally release Hallows' Eve, a Halloween witch who is determined to wreak havoc on the holiday. They have to get her scepter and return everything to normal, all while Hulk admits he's terrified of bats.

It was so late by that point, I had just enough time to get lunch and my costume together for Thomas Sharp. I have a bag of bits and pieces for various Halloween costumes that I've gathered over the years. This year, I'm going to be a black cat. I have a pair of ears and gloves and a tail (Mom made the last-named when I was in high school). There's also a bow, but I don't like anything really tight on my neck. Made whiskers and nose with makeup. (Ended up wearing my short-sleeved Eagles shirt. I'm saving my plain black shirt for the actual holiday tomorrow.)

I had so much to carry, I ended up calling Uber. No trouble getting there, thankfully. They took 13 to arrive, but I called early enough that I arrived at Thomas Sharp right on time. They took almost 15 minutes going home, but I didn't get off until quarter of 6.

The first half of my shift was pretty much the same as the rest of the week. I ate lunch with the 16 kids and read "Bambi" from the Storyland anthology to them. We got them all outside soon as the last kid finished their lunch. There was the usual squabbling over who swung with whom once I let them on, and the boys continue to hit and punch and yank each other around. (Two boys ended up with ice packs from falling off equipment or over each other.) All but two of the boys got on the swings at least once, and most of them went on multiple times. It was sunny but incredibly windy, to the point where we actually saw a particularly strong gust blow across the mulch and rattle the leaves on the trees at one point.

Around 3:30, we took the remaining six boys to the blacktop to play with the older kids. I went inside to help three teachers decorate the cafeteria for the after-school program's big Boo Bash. Each teacher had a themed table with matching treats. The head teacher did a sea and water theme and gave out rubber ducks and sea-themed stickers. Another teacher turned cardboard boxes into Minions that held candy and light-up rings. One of the male teachers set up inflatable witch's hats in the back for witch hat ring toss. The head teacher also created a refreshment table with graham crackers, Nila wafers, Capri Sun and Kool Aid Bursts juice bags, little containers of pumpkin dip (pumpkin, spice, cool whip, powdered sugar), Rice Krispies Treats like the ones I put in the Mystery Bags, and bags of multi-colored Goldfish Crackers. There was a coloring table to create bats and illustrate a spooky haunted house scene. 

I ended up taping those construction paper black cats to the edges of the black plastic tablecloth I bought. Added yellow crepe paper around the edges for a moon effect. The tinsel cat and pumpkin was too big to hang on the edge, so they went in the middle, in front of the vintage purple plastic jack o'lantern candy holder where I put the Mystery Bags. The Jack o'lantern candy holder originally belonged to my biological father Bruce, and was one of the holiday decorations I rescued after he died. I added my stuffed black and purple kitties Luna, Diana, and Xiomara, and a wooden stand-up black cat in a jack 'o' lantern I found at Goodwill a few years ago. Scattered the remaining scratch and sniff stickers around the table, along with the black cat face paper plates, cat's ears headbands (they were too big to fit in the Mystery Bags), and Halloween masks to color.

Around 4 PM, the teachers who were outside brought the remaining kids, mostly older ones, to the library. Kids who brought costumes went to the bathrooms to change into them. They all looked terrific! There was a lovely sorceress in a blue velvet gown and a very pretty girl werewolf. One boy was a Minecraft character, another Bumblebee from Transformers. An older girl who adores Pokemon was Gengar. I had to tie the ribbon for Dracula's cape. 

You should have seen how thrilled the kids were when we finally let them in the cafeteria. They'd only been peeking out the library door since they came in! We had so much fun. Older kids got masks to color in. Younger ones got cat headbands. I didn't really make enough Mystery Bags, so I gave those to as many kids as I could before they gave out. After that, kids got scratch-and-sniff stickers. The cat's ears were a big hit. So were the vampire teeth in the Mystery Bags. Some of the older kids asked about them, even after the Mystery Bags were long gone. 

The party ended up being a really big hit. Many of the younger kids came back, with their parents and their own even littler siblings in tow. I saw the little unicorn princess again. Her little brother is apparently a huge Eric Carle fan and came as the Very Hungry Caterpillar. Another eager miss was delighted to be her favorite Disney character, Moana. Most of the kids who didn't wear costumes at least wore Halloween-themed t-shirts or outfits. (I was the only teacher who came in costume. The head teacher did say that her costume got lost in the mail and had only just arrived as she left for the school, while another wore an orange T-shirt.)

Went straight into Match Game '77 when I got home. Ron Pallio, Fannie Flagg, and Elaine Joyce joined in for Christmas week. Charles spent the week complaining that he hadn't gotten to dress as Santa that year. (He dressed as Santa once, in 1973.) He finally turned up in at least part of a Santa costume near the end of the week, fussing that he'd been Santa on every show but that one.

Watched The Halloween Tree while eating dinner. Four best friends can't wait for Halloween festivities to begin, so they can go trick-or-treating with their buddy Pip (Kevin Michaels). They're shocked when they find Pip's house dark and Pip being loaded into an ambulance. When they see what appears to be his ghost, they follow it to the dark, forbidding old home of Mr. Moundshroud (Leonard Nimoy). Moundshroud has a tree in the back covered in Jack o'lanterns, including one that looks like Pip. They follow him through 3,000 years of Halloween history to learn the meaning behind their mummy, witch, monster, and skeleton costumes and save their friend, before his spirit is lost forever.

Ray Bradbury himself narrates this charming, melancholy look at the history behind various Halloween icons. Though I do enjoy learning more about the backstory behind Halloween traditions, the real anchor here is how devoted the kids are to Pip. It's sweet and almost sad, seeing what they go through and give up so their friend can join them for another Halloween. 

Finished the night with Elvira: Mistress of the Dark. Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) is hoping to set up a big show in Las Vegas, but needs the cash to do so. She heads to small-town Massachusetts after learning that her aunt left her something in her will. That "something" turns out to be her poodle, her dilapidated home, and what Elvira thinks is a recipe book. The "recipe book" is actually a spell book. Elvira discovers she's descended from a line of powerful witches when she attempts to make a "recipe" from the book for good-natured Bob Redding (Daniel Greene) and accidentally creates a monster. 

Her evil Uncle Vincent (W. Morgan Sheppard) tries to buy the book off of her, but Elvira is wise to his tricks now. He has her arrested for witchcraft and tries to get the overly conservative townspeople to burn her at the stake, but her poodle Gonk and Bob are able to free her. Now she has to rescue the town from her uncle's nasty powers and somehow get to Vegas, before her show is closed for good.

I've gotten a kick out of this very strange and bawdy horror comedy since it used to turn up a lot on cable in the late 80's and early 90's. Elvira's having a blast as the lady in question who doesn't understand why these annoying people are dousing her with gasoline and just wants to sell the house; Sheppard has almost as much fun chewing the scenery to bits as her uncle. I will say that it's not for everyone. If you're like the townspeople and are easily offended or aren't a fan of Elvira, horror, or rowdy 80's teen comedies, this probably won't be your cup of poison brew. For those of you who share Elvira's fondness for late-night B-schlock, come on in and enjoy the lunacy.

And here's more classic Halloween specials and shorts to show your kids after trick-or-treating!

Halloween Safety (1985 Educational Short)

The Last Halloween

The Haunted Pumpkin of Sleepy Hollow

Betty Boop - Betty Boop's Halloween Party

The Great Bear Scare

Ub Iwerks' Comi-Color Classics - The Headless Horseman

Bunnicula the Vampire Rabbit

The Trouble With Miss Switch

Miss Switch to the Rescue

DTV Monster Hits

Disney's Haunted Halloween (Educational Short)

The Fat Albert Halloween Special

Casper the Friendly Ghost - To Boo or Not to Boo

Buttons and Rusty In Which Witch Is Which?

Once Upon a Midnight Scary

I Believe It's Magic

Began the morning with breakfast and The Backyardigans. They're "Scared of You" when mad scientist Tasha sends her assistant Austin to retrieve Mummy King Tyrone, werewolf Uniqua, and vampire Pablo. They're more terrified of each other than of the message Austin brings. Austin just wishes everyone would remember his birthday, but there's a big surprise waiting for him at Tasha's laboratory. 

Switched to Jem while looking up housing websites online. It's "Trick or Techrat" when Jem and the Holograms agree to a benefit concert to save a failing opera house. The Misfits are annoyed about the attention they're getting and plan their own Halloween concert. One of the Starlight Girls is scared easily, especially when a series of accidents seemingly befall the opera house right before the concert, but she's the one who eventually figures out what's going on and what the Misfits' sleazy lawyer Eric Raymond is up to. 

Hurried out after Jem ended. I needed something for lunch, so I stopped really quick at Speedy Mart. The fastest things I could buy right away were three hard-boiled eggs in a container. Grabbed those, a banana, and a small bag of Herr's Popcorn and headed to Thomas Sharp, and I was still five minutes late.

Things weren't really all that different from how they've been the last few days. We had 15 kids all together. I arrived early enough to eat lunch with them and watch over those who took a while to finish before we all headed outside. Though we did get out a little earlier this time, I still made them wait 20 minutes to get on the swings. 

Once again, they spent a lot of the time squabbling over who would swing with whom. One girl got on early when her parents arrived...only for them to go to conferences first and come for her over a half-hour later. A boy absolutely would not swing with the girls, then would only swing with one of them. At least all but two of the kids got on at least once (and most rode multiple times) before we got back inside. I left the remaining four boys designing monsters and playing with Legos.

Stopped at Dollar General on the way home. I wanted something for the older kids at Thomas Sharp tomorrow. Needed construction paper for my black cat-themed table, too, and pumpkin for bread next month. They were really busy, and I got stuck waiting behind a man who seemed to have bought his entire grocery list from them.

When I got home, I set up more Mystery Bags and cut out construction paper black cats while watching the original Ghostbusters from 1984. After they're fired from Columbia University in New York, paranormal professors Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis), Peter Venkmen (Bill Murray), and Ray Stanz (Dan Ackroyd) go into business for themselves as professional ghost-catchers. Their venture is a bust until classical musician Dana Barrett (Signorney Weaver) calls them about a monster in her refrigerator. Peter's smitten and offers to take her case. 

She's not the only one seeing weird creatures around New York City. After they trap a slimy little ghost in a huge hotel, they suddenly have more business than they can handle. They end up having to hire a fourth man, Winston Zeddmore (Ernie Hudson), to help them with the extra load. Their secretary Janine (Annie Potts) is worried something might go wrong...and as it turns out, she's right. An obnoxious officer from the Environmental Protection Agency (William Atherton) shuts down the machine holding the ghosts, sending them blasting back into Manhattan. Meanwhile, Dana and her nerdy neighbor Louis Tully (Rick Moranis) have been possessed by the demon Gozer, who was called by the very building where they live. The Ghostbusters end up in jail, until the Mayor (David Marguiles) realizes there's only four men who can stop the demon and the giant marshmallow man from turning New York into the world's largest charred marshmallow.

This is a long-time favorite of mine, and certainly one of the funniest horror comedies ever made. The 1989 sequel isn't that bad, I still think the 2016 all-female remake gets a bum rap, and I haven't gotten around to the recent films yet...but for my money, this is really the only Ghostbusters film most casual viewers will need. The special effects stand out even to this day, and Elmer Bernstein provides a suitably eerie score. 

Moved online for Match Game '77 while I made dinner and tried to untangle my attempt at a black cat garland. (I eventually gave up and will just tape the black cats to the tablecloth.) This one finished out the week with Tom Poston, Betty White, and Mary Ann Mobley. Brett was thrilled when she got one right on the first question. Mary Ann and Tom were just happy to get questions right at all.

Finished the night with I Kissed a Vampire. I go further into this frighteningly bad attempt at a teen horror musical at my Musical Dreams Movie Reviews blog. 

Happy Halloween - I Kissed a Vampire 

Scary Tales On a Sunny Day

Began the morning with a classic Donald Duck short. Huey, Dewey, and Louie are disappointed when their "Trick or Treat" outing to their Uncle Donald's house turns into more trick than treat. A sympathetic witch helps them turn the tables and teaches Donald a lesson in sharing during the holidays.

Once again took Uber to work...and had a little more trouble. It took me 9 minutes to get a ride this morning, 15 minutes going from the Acme to Thomas Sharp, and 12 going home. For some reason, the number got stuck on those 15 minutes this afternoon, even though the driver did come on time. I had to message him to make sure he was still coming. At least I got to both jobs right on time.

The Acme was, pardon the pun with the upcoming holiday, dead as a doornail this morning. Most people were more likely to be enjoying the continuing gorgeous weather or are saving their grocery shopping for the beginning of the month next week. Halloween isn't really known for big meals. I did have to deal with two kids screaming at each other around quarter of 10. From the pile of tiny liquor bottles under the house sales papers pedestal one of them knocked over (twice, though he did set it up again), I suspect they hit up the liquor store next door to the Acme early and often.

Grabbed a turkey sandwich on pretzel slider buns for lunch before calling Uber again. The kids were listening to a story when I arrived. Three of the girls from my table ran over to give me big hugs! I had the time to eat one of my sliders with the last girl who had to finish her lunch before we headed outside. I did make them wait 20 minutes to go on the swings after we got outside. There were 14 kids, which is still a lot in that little playground. Otherwise, it went pretty much the same as yesterday. The boys are still inclined towards a little too much hitting each other, but all of the kids got on at least once, and most of them rode three or more times. The kids had so much fun outside, it was quarter after 3 before we finally got the remaining 4 boys back in. They were playing with Legos when I headed out.

Did online housing research while watching two vintage Disney Halloween specials. Halloween Hall of Fame from 1977 has Johnathan Winters as a security guard working at the Disney Studios on Halloween night. He discovers a grouchy Jack O' Lantern (also Winters) hiding in a crystal ball while fooling around in the prop room. Seems Jack doesn't think Halloween is scary enough anymore. Winters directs him to "Trick or Treat," "Pluto's Judgement Day," and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" to prove otherwise.

"Pluto's Judgement Day" and "Trick or Treat" also figure into Disney's Halloween Treat, the Disney Channel's Halloween special from the 1980's. A far friendly carved pumpkin introduces a series of shorts and segments from films like the Wizard's Duel between Mad Madam Mim and Merlin from The Sword In the Stone and "The Siamese Cat Song" from Lady and the Tramp. We also get the full "Lonesome Ghosts," "The Old Mill," and "Donald and the Gorilla," a segment on the cat's contribution to horror history, and Hans Conried as the Magic Mirror introducing various Disney villains (including the one he did the voice for, Captain Hook).

Oh, at this point, a friend whose teen daughter was cleaning out her room asked me if I wanted an 18-inch doll her daughter had outgrown. Sure! She was a real beauty, with long wavy dark brown hair and wide, non-closing brown eyes. Though I don't think she's one of the Toys R Us "Journey Girls," she is done in a similar style. She'll keep the name on her tag, Nicole. I think it suits her. She'll be my second teenager, a wanna-be boardwalk diva from a changing Atlantic City in 1988. 

Switched to Match Game '77 after Disney's Halloween Treat ended. Started off with the week that introduced David Doyle, a good friend of Brett's who would become a semi-regular during the syndicated era. Dancer Juliet Prowse was also around to help sweet Bertha, a kindly little old lady, win big money. Tom Poston returned the next week, joined by Betty White and slightly ditzy southern belle Mary Ann Mobley.

Moved to Disney Plus for the Halloween episode of MASH. "Trick or Treatment" from the 11th and last season starts with the 4077th's Halloween party being interrupted by the arrival of wounded soldiers. Most of the wounds are superficial to the point of being ridiculous. One Marine (George Wendt) has a cue ball stuck in his mouth. Another, very drunk, Marine (Andrew Dice Clay) drove through a chicken coup. Winchester is not amused by either of them. Meanwhile, Hawkeye and Hot Lips have a whopper of a ghost story when Father Mulcahey discovers that a dead soldier may be more living than previously thought, and Hunnicut helps a soldier suffering from malnutrition.

Finished the night at YouTube with Boo! Variety shows were dying on TV in North America when this Canadian special debuted in 1980, but that didn't stop the makers of this show from going to town with enough cheese to top every head at a Green Bay Packers game. In addition to a big opening number (to the title song) and closing number (to "If They Could See Me Now" from Sweet Charity), we mostly get a series of bizarre blackout skits. Dracula uses the Frankenstein monster to charge his shaver. The wolfman is hypnotized to go crazy when he hears "flowers" instead of "moon." Rip Taylor plays a gadget salesman who finds a tough crowd at a bar filled with monsters and aliens and one of two prisoners trying to figure out a way to keep from going crazy. Dionne Warwick sings a lovely soft-focus "Deja Vu" and tells the Frankenstein monster she likes him "Just the Way You Are." 

Sunshine and Spooky Scares

Began the morning with breakfast and Sheriff Callie's Wild West. Bandits steal Nice and Friendly Corners' Halloween candy and bury it next to a corn stalk in "The Great Halloween Robbery." The corn belongs to Farmer Stinky, who plants more corn for a maze. Callie, Peck, and Toby have to make their way through the maze to find the candy and catch the bandits red-handed (or faced). Peck makes up the story of "The Ghost of Scary Prairie" for Toby, Mr. Dillo, and his burro Clementine. However, he neglects to tell them that it's all fictional. Toby takes it for real, and soon the entire town is pursuing what they think is a scary "ghost" across the western landscape.

Called Uber after the cartoon ended. The one going to work came in 8 minutes. I got to the Acme just in time. The one going to Thomas Sharp took 12 minutes. It took me longer to get a ride home at 3:30, but the driver finally came in 5 minutes. 

The Acme was a little busier than it has been this morning, mainly because Tuesday is Senior Discount Day and there's a senior high-rise housing building a block away. I spent the first half of my shift pushing carts and enjoying the continuing beautiful fall weather. It was in the mid-60's, sunny, breezy, and beautiful. I took over the sweeping during the second half when the head bagger ended up in a register. No real trouble, other than I forgot to tell the head bagger I did the sweeping. 

Grabbed a few things quickly after I changed. I needed candy to make the Mystery Bags later in the afternoon. Needed something for lunch, too - bought a turkey sandwich with cranberry mayo. 

The kids were lining up to go outside when I arrived at the school. Two of the girls at my table got out of line to give me a big hug! I hugged them back and shooed them outside with the others. This time, I did wait about 15 minutes for the kids to go on the swings. It went a bit better than yesterday. The boys still wrestle around the swing set frame, but almost all of the 14 kids who wanted a ride got at least one. Most of them went on two or three times. 

There were 9 kids left when we went back inside. Two of the boys built with Legos, but most of the kids settled down for a simple art project. They used stickers with Halloween figures, eyes, noses, mouths, and eyebrows to create their own Halloween character. When the last little girl finished her monster, I read "Feed Big Hilda Hippo Her ABCs" to her. No wonder she brought the book out to read. Her mother says they have a Richard Scarry story at home. I left at the same time she did.

Went straight into setting up the Mystery Bags when I got home. Watched Young Frankenstein as I worked. Fredrick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) isn't too happy to inherit his grandfather's castle and laboratory in Transylvania. He'd rather separate himself from his family's gruesome history, until he finds his grandfather's diary downstairs and wonders if reanimating the dead isn't such a bad idea after all. He and his assistant Igor (Marty Feldman) literally dig up an enormous dead man, but Igor's mix-up leaves this massive creature with an abnormal brain. Fredrick's housekeeper Frou Blucher (whinny) (Cloris Leachman) turns him loose on the countryside. They do get him back, but after an attempt to "civilize" him fails, Fredrick has to figure out how he can tame this beast. There's also the arrival of his prim fiancee Elizabeth (Madeline Khan) when he's courting his female assistant Inga (Terri Garr). 

This is my favorite Mel Brooks movie along with Spaceballs. Wilder and Brooks came up with a classic script that's both an affectionate send-up of the old Universal monster films (using the same sets as the original Frankenstein) and a delightful horror comedy in its own right. In fact, the cast had so much fun, they added extra scenes just to keep going! Highly recommended for fans of the cast, Universal horror movies, gentler parodies, or if you're like me and you're looking for a horror film that's atmospheric but not too scary.

Switched to Match Game '77 during dinner. They mainly finished out the week with David Lansberg, Lee Merriweather, and Marcia Wallace. I can see why Lansberg never came back. He was pleasant and funny enough, but otherwise unremarkable. Marcia and Lee were happier that they actually got some difficult questions right for a change.

Finished the night with vintage Halloween sitcom and variety shows, starting with The Muppet Show. Vincent Price headlined the first "theme" episode in the late 1st season. His arrival made most of the Muppets, including Kermit, very nervous, but delighted the monsters, who sang "You've Got a Friend" with him. Price also did a riff on his "Prince of Darkness" persona when he and Uncle Deadly appear in Fozzie and Gonzo's old haunted house, while ghosts sing about how "I'm Looking Through You" and Wayne and Wanda attempt "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered." 

Alice Cooper's own shock jock persona was well in evidence when he turned up in one of the more controversial episodes of the third season. His appearance became a parody of Faust, with him trying to sell the Muppets' souls. Gonzo is the only taker. Meanwhile, teeth complain of a toothache, a creature eats another creature (and sings about it), and "Pigs In Space" deal with a virus that turns them all into invisible outlines. 

It's "A Dark and Stormy Night" when the power goes out on Silver Spoons while Freddy, Ricky, and Alfonso are watching a horror movie marathon. Edward encourages them to use their imaginations to tell a round robin ghost story. It somehow turns into a Frankenstein parody, with three semi-courageous young lads rescuing a lovely lady (Kate) from an evil mad scientist (Edward) and his very polite creation (Dexter).

The Monkees dove into horror four times on their show. I did two of those episodes tonight, starting with "Monkee See, Monkee Die." The Monkees end up stranded in an old mansion on a remote island, surrounded by the eccentric hangers-on of a recently deceased millionaire. While Micky and Mike try to figure out what's going on when people start vanishing, Davy falls for the very pretty granddaughter of the millionaire who just inherited the house.

"Monstrous Monkee Mash" is a more obvious horror parody. Once again, Davy gets caught up in a romance he seriously regrets, this time with a lady who turns out to be the daughter of Dracula. The other three go after him, only for Davy to be turned into a vampire and Micky into a werewolf. It's up to Mike to rescue his friends and figure out how to get these ghouls off their set for good. 

Spooky Games

Began the morning with breakfast and Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special. Witch Hazel chases Bugs through a series of bits cribbed from classic shorts...though at least, unlike Bugs' Easter and Thanksgiving specials, the bits are from horror shorts or ones actually set at Halloween. Bugs evades Hazel's stew pot and wonders what Dr. Jekyll's potion tastes like. Sylvester tries to save Porky from mice who are determined to scare the cat to death and dodges his worst nightmare, a massive monstrous Tweety. Daffy tries to show his niece that the lady who gave her treats isn't a witch, only to encounter Speedy turned into one.

Switched to "Hair Raising Hare" while cleaning up from breakfast. Bugs follows what he thinks is a lovely girl rabbit to a spooky castle. It's really a robot, created by a Peter Lorre-like mad scientist who wants him as dinner for his monster Gossamer. Bugs keeps trying to evade the massive hairy thing...but it's the least-likely people who eventually frighten Gossamer away.

Spent the next hour replacing the black ink in my printer. I scanned and copied the Acme's W-2, and since I can't find the one from Healthy Kids, I printed that out from TurboTax. I'll do the paperwork for the investment fund tomorrow after work or Thursday morning. 

Listened to the soundtrack from It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown while I worked. Vince Guaraldi provided a suitably eerie score for Snoopy's attempt to figure out who stole Woodstock's nest. A slightly re-written "Joe Cool" is heard again here after first appearing in You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, while an instrumental "Little Birdie" reappears from the previous special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. We also have "Cops and Robbers" and the moody "Sally's Blues." Side B has bonus material, including Guaraldi's non-special versions of "Autumn Leaves" and "Billie's Bounce."

Hurried out right after the record ended. I wanted to get lunch before today's half-day at Thomas Sharp started. I originally planned on eating a sandwich somewhere, but I ran out of time. I just grabbed a slice of mushroom, a slice of cheese, and a can of Diet Coke at Crust N' Cravings. Ate them while listening to Channel 6 talk about how gorgeous the weather has been and will continue to be for the rest of the week.

I'm glad I got there right on time. The kids were in the library when I hurried in. We needed all the help we could get. There were only two teachers to deal with 15 rowdy kids. On one hand, they loved it when I read "The Three Little Pigs" from the Fantasyland Disney anthology book and "I Am a Bunny" and "Good Night, Little Bear" from Richard Scarry. 

On the other hand, they simply would not listen to me or the other teacher. They were used to obeying the head teacher, and she was out sick. It was even worse when we went outside to enjoy that beautiful weather they mentioned on Action News. The little boys kept beating up on each other and wrestling each other. They got so crazy, we eventually banned tag. They turned it into a contact sport. One of the girls threw an absolute fit when she had to get off the swing so another child could ride (after having been on at least once before). She flounced off behind the tree to sulk. When I did let her on, she kept twisting, which the kids aren't allowed to do. School rules, not just Healthy Kids. I eventually sent her to a time-out with the other teacher. She was the last girl to leave. There were three older boys and two younger ones left by 3:30, few enough that the other teacher said I could go.

After a brief stop at CVS to use the bathroom, I made my way through the twisty streets of Audubon to their library. It's a tiny two-room building, slightly smaller than Bellmawr, but I did find some interesting books. A Halloween craft book gave me the idea to shred crepe paper and twist them together for my party table on Friday. I also discovered a fascinating coffee table book on 125 years of Broadway musical history, written in 1991. (Miss Saigon and Les Miserables were the most recent hits they had listed.) I especially enjoyed the photos of vintage artifacts, including costumes from musicals going back to the late 1800's. 

Ran a few errands after I left. Family Dollar didn't have crepe paper or a black plastic tablecloth, but they did have a tinsel black cat in a jack o'lantern decoration that would work. Dollar General had the black plastic round tablecloth. They didn't have orange or black crepe paper, but I did get a bag that had red and yellow in it that might work. Neither store had the mini-Moon Pies, and I won't get to Dollar Tree before Halloween. I bought boxes of mini-Rice Krispies Treats instead.

Watched Match Game '77 when I got home. They skipped ahead again, this time to the week with Orson Bean and Fannie Flagg that also introduced Connie Stevens. Orson discusses his voice work for the 1977 version of The Hobbit in the episode before Thanksgiving Day. 

Finished the night with far spookier game shows. Match Game only got into the holiday once, in 1990, but it was far and away the best episode of that series. They heavily decorated the sets, and the contestants and all of the panelists were in costume. Charles Nelson Reilly was Superman. His favorite drinking buddy Brett Somers was a little girl. Vicki Lawrence was Little Red Riding Hood in a super-short dress. Host Ross Schafer made a rather attractive Dracula. It was ventriloquist Ronn Lucas and his dragon puppet Scorch, though, who came up with the scariest costume of all.

Match Game wasn't the only show in 1990 where everyone dressed the part. Host Ray Combs was a bee in the 1990 Family Feud Halloween special. One family featured a lady in an old-fashioned bathing suit, another in a Chinese costume, a little sister Alice In Wonderland, and a dad wizard. The other had a mom queen, a cowboy with a very tall hat, a gangster dad, and a Lady Liberty aunt. 

The late 90's-early 2000's Hollywood Squares always did a Halloween week with all of the panelists in costume (though not the contestants or host Tom Bergenon). Vicki Lawrence is back, this time dressed as her "Mama" character from Mama's Family. There's also Martin Mull as a priest and Tammy Faye Baker as one of the least-likely angels in TV history. Elvira joins in to add a touch of darkness.

Press Your Luck settled for trick-or-treating Whammys stealing a trick-or-treat bucket-load of cash from one of the ladies in 1984. It came down to the lady and an older man. The lady ended up getting so lucky, it was scary. Host Peter Tomarken celebrated her win by dancing in front of the contestants' desks in a Frankenstein mask (and collapsing in the end).

A syndicated To Tell the Truth episode from 1976 started off with real-life scares, as Gene Rayburn joined Bill Cullen, Peggy Cass, and Kitty Carlisle in figuring out which of three ladies survived a harrowing experience when her small plane was stranded in a Colorado snowstorm. The second contestant had scares of a more enjoyable variety. Three men dressed as horror icons and famous villains claimed to be a young horror fanatic who owned a small museum of film horror figures. Gene Rayburn couldn't resist trading "anti-pasto" accent jokes with the guy in the vampire costume.

The Price Is Right started doing Halloween episodes around 2001. Bob Barker had a hard enough time just getting winners on that show. Four out of six contestants lost their games, and one woman only won $1,000 on Plinko. On the other hand, an older lady did pick up $10,000 on the first Showcase Showdown wheel spin. The generic Showcase was living room furniture and a spa. The "story" Showcase had a witchy model showing off things that are "scary," including taking a beautiful sports car in LA traffic. Both contestants honestly got really close, but the guy who bid on the furniture got closer.

Show these episodes at your Halloween gathering and see what ghouls gather to play along!

To Tell the Truth Syndicated (1976)

Press Your Luck (1984)

Family Feud (1990)

Match Game (1990)

The Price Is Right (2001)

Hollywood Squares Syndicated (2002)

Those Terrific Matches

Began the morning with breakfast and the soundtrack from Mary Poppins. Most people think of the songs, including the Oscar-winning "Chim Chim Cheree," but the Sherman Brothers' background score also won. Irwin Kostal worked with them to assure it was the perfect blend of music hall, Broadway sophistication, and lush cinematic charm. The music is just as well tailored to its story as the songs, with numbers like Bert's "One Man Band" and the bombastic theme for "Admiral Boom." 

This time, I actually left a little early for work and got there in plenty of time. Not that it ended up mattering. There were two other guys already doing carts outside when I arrived, including the Sunday morning bagger. I had so little to do, I spent an hour before my break shelving unwanted items. I didn't really have a whole lot to do until they both went home around 3 and I took over the sweeping. By that time, I was an hour and a half from being done myself. We were pretty dead for a lot of the afternoon, too. The weather remains too gorgeous for shopping, we're between major holidays, and the Eagles play Monday night (and haven't been playing very well lately anyhow). 

Went straight home after I got off. I changed and had dinner while listening to the cast album for the 1995 Pal Joey revival. This was actually one of the earliest Encores! concerts, with Peter Gallagher as ambitious dancer Joey and Patti LuPone as Vera Simpson, the lady who kept him and bankrolled his club. We get most of the full score here, including the final song that was cut from the original production, Joey's "I'm Talkin' To My Pal." LuPone really goes to town on "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered," which pretty much goes on forever, and joins Daisy Prince for a hilarious "Take Him." Bebe Neuworth has even more fun with the strip spoof "Zip."

Made the bed as today's Match Game YouTube marathon began. Irascible character actor Jack Klugman was actually on the show from almost literally the beginning. He was on the pilot episodes and the first week of shows with Michael Landon and Vicki Lawrence. He was the one who recommended his wife Brett Somers for the show to get her out of the house. I don't think he figured she'd get a career out of it. He did three more weeks sitting next to Brett in 1973. Poor Stu Gilliam got caught between their feuding and wondered how he landed in "the military section." "Mama" Cass Elliot was more amused by their antics. I'm not sure Robert Culp got most of what was going on. 

He and Brett had divorced or separated by 1975. Jack wouldn't turn up again until long after that in 1978. The duo showed why they split up on the first day of the week when they argued over "__ Hall of Fame" in the Audience Match. Jack spent most of the week complaining about panelists not getting gifts. They eventually gave him a sweater and a jacket to appease him. On the last day of the regular week, Jack was moved next to Brett, and they somehow ended up on top of each other at one point. The others even held a mock "wedding" for them. 

Jack's final appearance on the show was in late 1981, during the tail end of the syndicated era. He sat in Brett's character actress second seat, claiming he didn't have to pay her alimony if he did this for her while she was out doing a play. He once again fussed about not getting gifts. Gene let him plug in a radio so he could listen to the horse races. When the Navy officer contestant won $20,000 on the nighttime episode, Jack went wild, swinging his fiancee around, spinning the Star Wheel, and running all over the studio.

There were quite a few references to Jack even when he wasn't around. During the episode where sweet Janet Finn became the show's all-time winner at that point, there was a question about how Will Rogers said he never met a man he didn't like, but he hadn't met __. Naturally, everyone said Jack, even the contestant. Charles twice joked about the tiny diamond chip pendant Jack had given Brett during the syndicated era, including during the week with country star Irlene Mandrell in early 1982. 

Get to know the grouchiest guy in South Philly and his sometimes sour, sometimes hilarious relationship with his wife in this marathon that you won't need an autopsy to find.

Match Game Sunday Classics - Jack Klugman On the Panel 

Lost In the Hills

Got a quick start this morning with breakfast and the classic Disney short "Lonesome Ghosts." Donald, Mickey, and Goofy are the original Ghostbusters who chase a trio of bored ghosts around their ancient mansion. It takes a barrel of molasses and a bag of flour for them to turn the tables and spook the spooks.

Raced off to work after the cartoon ended...and was one minute late. Fortunately, I had no more trouble after that. Except for when the head bagger went on the register and I had to sweep, I spent most of the day outside with the carts. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. The weather is still gorgeous here, sunny, breezy, and in the 60's. It wasn't even all that busy. Not only is the weather too nice for shopping, but there's too many things going on this weekend, local craft shows and Halloween parties and school sports.

Changed shirts, then quickly bought a gift card for my nephew Elijah's birthday (he turns one today) before heading off again. One of those events this weekend is Haddon Heights' Fall Fest. I cut through Audubon and across King's Highway...and promptly got lost once I entered Haddon Heights. They're not called that because it sounds pretty. Haddon Heights is on a series of twisty old streets surrounding steep hills. I did read about a historic mill that had once been by the Dell, but that didn't help me find Station Avenue. It took  me another twenty minutes to figure out where I was going.

It was past 3 when I finally locked my bike by the Library. Alas, the Library was closed by then, and the local services advertising on that block were shutting down. The craft fair on the other side of the tracks was still going, though. I strolled down the block by Ralph's Pizza and Anthony's, admiring hand-made jewelry and knitted stuffed animals. I bought two such knitted critters for my best friends Lauren and Amanda to put in their Christmas boxes. Tried a tasty strawberry white chocolate cookie from one of the bakery booths.

Ended up at Doc's Finds next. They were too busy for me to check the dollar bins extensively, and my jazz and rock crates are full to bursting. I did pick up one children's album and a couple of soundtracks and cast albums:

The soundtracks for the film versions of MASH and A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum and a "deluxe" boxed soundtrack for The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. (The Brothers Grimm soundtrack comes with a slim but really nice hardback book telling how the movie was made and featuring condensed versions of the three Brothers Grimm stories depicted in the movie.) 

Stories and Songs About Walt Disney's 3 Little Pigs

The original Broadway cast album for Oh, What a Lovely War!

Hurried straight home across Haddon Heights and Audubon and over the bridge next to the train tracks into Oaklyn, avoiding the busy White Horse Pike. Today's Match Game YouTube marathon had already started when I got in. Nerdocrumbesia was the mythical sleazy country from later episodes that the writers invented when they wanted to joke about a silly country without offending real ones. Questions asked about their national anthem, their minuscule Air Force, how they got their garbage picked up, what their national dance was, and where its citizens put their hands during said anthem.

There was a Nerdocrumbesia question in the 1977 episode that introduced Bertha, a dear old lady who became one of the most beloved contestants ever on the show. There were two during the week in 1978 with Joe Gargiola and another on the week with Tab Hunter and Marilu Henner. Nipsey Russell heard about Nerdocrumbesia on the only week he sat in what had been Richard Dawson's fifth seat in 1979. (He was a friend of Richard's and apparently didn't enjoy taking his place.) Jon "Bowser" Bauman answered one on a 1979 PM episode while Bill Daily panted over young beauty Charlene Tilton next to him.

Let's take a fall trip to the worst country in the world in these wild and wacky episodes!

Match Game Saturday Classics - Let's Visit Nerdocrumbesia & Looneyville

That Old Fall Magic

Started off a gorgeous morning with breakfast and What's New, Scooby Doo? It's "A Scooby Doo Halloween," and Mystery Inc. is heading to the small town of Banning Junction and Velma's uncle and aunt's farm. Banning Junction is known for getting into Halloween, but strange moving scarecrows have been burning spooky symbols into their crops. Velma is determined to find out who's behind this. Daphne is jealous that Velma's beautiful cousin Marcy has been flirting with Fred. Shaggy and Scooby just want to go trick or treating and hear KISS play at the Halloween festival.

Hurried off to Westmont when the cartoon ended. I had a lot of errands to run, starting with Target. They didn't have the gift card I wanted for my nephew or Halloween party supplies, but I did get an Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai at Starbucks that was really good. Did better at Sprouts. They had smaller and cheaper containers of shredded chicken, and I picked up apples, oat milk, soda on sale, and dried pineapple.

Dodged the continuing road and sidewalk work on Cutbert past the high school and down to the Westmont Acme. The Acme is having huge online 99 cent sales this week. I got a ham steak, yogurt, a box of Duncan Hines spice cake mix, and eggs for 99 cents each. Restocked granola, tuna, soda, English muffins (which are still on a good sale), and grapes. Picked up bagels for tomorrow and Sunday. Tried a basic frosted donut topped with Fruity Pebbles. Ehh, not as overwhelmingly sweet as the birthday cake donut, but I don't think donuts work with crunchy bits.

Cut through Newton Lake Park on my way home. It was a gorgeous day for a ride in the park...which is likely why I made my way around a lot of people walking dogs and pushing strollers. It's still sunny, breezy, and in the mid-60's here, and looks like it'll continue to be for the foreseeable future. The trees are just starting to turn colors here, riots of brilliant scarlet and rust and gold. The fountains sparkled in the bright sunshine as I passed them.

When I got home, I put everything away, then finally got that Sony DVD player hooked up the right way. And yes, it did play CBS DVDs, starting with the Halloween episode of Happy Days. Richie Cunningham is worried that the house Ralph rented for his Halloween party is "Haunted" by a ghost who will take off his head. Joanie teases him, but Fonzie reminds him that there's nothing to fear but fear itself. It's Richie who finally figures out what's going on when more than one spooky trick threatens to spoil their treat of a party.

Laverne & Shirley also have to deal with a "Haunted House" in the second season of their show. Carmine mentions that the old Ramsdale Manor is about to be demolished and may be a good place to buy a used couch, but Shirley has heard stories about a "hairy thing" there that snatches people. Laverne is just as convinced that an old house is an old house, and they need cheap furniture. When first Lenny and Squiggy go missing, and then the little man from the city who was supposed to sell them the couch, Laverne begins to wonder if Shirley might have something after all.

I also got my schedule really quick at this point. In good news, I did get next Friday and Saturday off for Halloween, along with Monday. Bad news is, I work two double-shift days in a row, Tuesday and Wednesday. I'm going to be late to Thomas Sharp those days. The Collingswood and Oaklyn elementary schools are on half-days next week for teacher conferences. 

Hurried out to Thomas Sharp even before the episode ended. Good thing I got there in plenty of time. We had 17 kids today, and they were all rowdy as heck, especially the boys. We got them outside a little earlier than usual, and all the boys did was wrestle and kick and grab at each other. I had to separate them twice when they were waiting for the swings. They were all dangerously close to not going on the swings at all. In the end, I think only one or two kids didn't get on before we went back inside. When we got back in the cafeteria, I joined some of the kids who were drawing on a large sheet of paper taped to a table. Others placed leaf and pumpkin-shaped stickers on colored construction paper. 

The reason we had to take the kids early was their teachers started setting up for the school's "Spooktacular" on the blacktop area around 4:30. This is Thomas Sharp's version of "trunk or treat," where kids in costume are given candy and stickers from decorated car trunks. I saw one car that was supposed to be a movie theater. Another was a bubble bath with lots of balloon bubbles. There was a Nintendo car and even a Price Is Right car with a hand-drawn Showcase Showdown big wheel. 

I got two very small slices of cheese pizza and walked around. Almost immediately ran into one of my students, who was dressed as a unicorn princess in a pretty pink and blue dress with gold trim and a flower-and-horn headband. Another girl was a wolf with a painted-on nose who was delighted to practice her howl for me. One of the older girls was a lovely curly-haired sorceress. The youngest boy in class was a bright green racing car. One sweet miss was Elsa with her mother as Anna. An older boy dressed as Po from Kung Fu Panda gave me Twizzlers.

Stopped at CVS on the way home. They didn't have Halloween party supplies. I was going to buy a gift card for my baby nephew Elijah's first birthday, but a lady was fussing about some online coupon not working and holding up the line. I finally decided it wasn't worth the wait and left with nothing. I'll get a gift card at the Audubon Acme tomorrow.

Went straight into dinner and Match Game '77 when I got home. Most of the night was devoted to the week with Nipsey Russell, Betty White, and Real People hostess Sarah Purcell. One of the contestants in the last episode of the night told Brett she saw Jack Klugman at the tracks, flirting with a blonde. I don't think she meant to be rude. She was probably just passing a juicy tidbit. It's likely she didn't know how contentious Brett and Jack's divorce had been, or how much it hurt Brett. Her first answer was honestly pretty good, but I don't think any of the panelists were objecting too much when her second was terrible and she was sent on her way.

Switched to Kanopy for the original The Old Dark House from 1932. Newlyweds Phillip (Raymond Massey) and Margaret Waverton (Gloria Stuart) and their friend Roger Penderel (Melvyn Douglas) are lost in Wales during a massive storm. They seek shelter at an ancient old Manor house that belongs to siblings Rebecca (Eva Moore) and Horace (Ernest Theisiger) Femm. The house is full of secrets, starting with their voiceless, drunk giant of a butler Morgan (Boris Karloff). Sir William Porterhouse (Charles Laughton) and his current interest Gladys DuCane (Lillian Bond) arrive during dinner. Roger finds himself falling for Gladys, even as they learn more about the biggest secret of all, and why some secrets are better off kept behind locked doors...

James Whale directed cinema's first creaky old house story. It's slow-moving and talky, but you can't fault that cast. Douglas, Karloff, and Laughton take top honors as the sophisticated man who meets his match in the independent-minded chorus girl, the silent, scarred butler, and the whiny, slightly pompous nobleman. I like that it's a tight 70 minutes that doesn't overstay its welcome. If you love haunted house stories or pre-code Horror or are looking for a Universal horror film with no monsters involved, try their foray into haunted house tales. 

Finished the night at YouTube with The Paul Lynde Halloween Special. The cast of The Old Dark House aren't the only ones dealing with haunted houses. Hoping to avoid the annoying Osmonds, Lynde opts to spend his Halloween at the creaky old home belonging to his housekeeper Margaret Hamilton...who is, of course, the Wicked Witch of the West. Her cousin is Witchepoo (Billie Hayes) of Sid and Marty Kroft fame. The ladies give Lynde three wishes. His first is to be a glamorous trucker who gets to marry a gorgeous truck stop waitress (Roz Kelly). His second has him as a sheik, Florence Henderson as the British object of his affections, and Tom Conway as a Foreign Legionarre. Lynde uses his last to turn the ladies' home into a Halloween disco, up to and including Henderson singing a disco version of "That Old Black Magic." Somewhere in between all this, Betty White turns up as Miss Halloween, and KISS sings three of their biggest hits, "Detroit Rock City," "Beth," and "King of the Night World."