Friday, May 01, 2020

Wild and Woolly Matches

Awoke to pouring rain around 7...and went right back to sleep until 9:30. It was past 10:30 when I finally finished my journal and a few chapters of The Scarlet Pimpernel (my favorite book) and rolled out of bed. The older All-American Women's Baseball League player finished out her run as an undefeated champ on Blockbusters, though she wasn't able to win her final Gold Rush bonus round. They had just enough time to switch to a sister team playing a college student before finishing for the day.

Moved on to cartoons while finishing breakfast and preparing to run to the laundromat. The first episode of the second season of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood brought back a lot of childhood memories. Mrs. Tiger announces that she's going to have a baby very soon in "The Tiger Family Grows," and that Dan can be a big helper. Daniel isn't sure he's ready to be a big brother when he plays Mommy and Daddy with Katrina, but he finally realizes that he enjoys the role. "Daniel Learns About Being a Big Brother" when his parents show him his old baby things, and he realizes how small he once was, and how much his new sibling will need those things now.

The kids and the Cat do some traveling in The Cat In the Hat Knows a Lot About That to learn about "Big Cats" like lions and cheetahs in order to figure out how to sneak up on Nick's mom and scare her. "Finding Flour" is more relevant nowadays. Flour doesn't just grow on trees. The Cat takes the kids to a grain farm in order for the perky farmer to teach them how wheat is harvested, the chaff is removed, and the grain is ground.

Went to The Roku Channel for the original My Little Pony & Friends. My Little Pony generally ran two different types of episodes - two to four-part sword-and-sorcery tales, and one-part shorts. "Return of Tambelon" is an example of the former. Tambelon is a city run by an evil sorcerer that's reappeared after 500 years. Shortly after it's appearance, all of the unicorn ponies vanish. It turns out that they're not the only residents of Ponyville that the sorcerer is after. He's determined that all ponies should end up in the Realm of Darkness forever!

"Mish Mash Melee" is one of the shorts. Fizzy, Shady, Wind Whistler, and Gusty accidentally knock over a barrel that release colorful tiny creatures. These little guys switch personalities, upsetting the balance of nature. Even with their own personalities switched around, the ponies have to figure out how to get the creatures back in the barrel and make things right.

Headed out after "Mish Mash Melee" ended, dropping my rent in the McHughs' mailbox on my way. I couldn't put off doing my laundry. The laundromat was so busy when I came in, I fled after I put my load in the washer and went two blocks down to WaWa. They were a lot less crowded, and I was able to buy a turkey hoagie, baked chips, and double mocha chilled cappuccino for lunch with no trouble. The washer was almost through with its cycle by the time I arrived, and my load was so small, it didn't really need to be in the drier for long.

Dashed home after finishing. Put everything away, then made my favorite Chocolate Chip-Oatmeal Cookies while watching Good Eats: Reloaded. Alton's new method for roasting chicken in "A Bird In the Pan" isn't any easier for me to handle than the old one. Even small roasters are still a lot more than I need. "The Turkey Strikes Back...Again" was more relevant. Some of the recipes looked pretty darn good, especially the Turkey Tiki Marsala (though I'll have to dial down the heat on that one), Turkcetta roll, and turkey salad.

Finished the night with perfectly baked cookies and the next Match Game marathon. Wacky comic Avery Schreiber of the bushy mustache and wild curls brought his hilarious facial expressions and unique point of view to the panel starting in 1974. He was a frequent guest in the show's early years, and in fact took part in three of it's most memorable nighttime episodes. Joan Collins also appeared on a hilarious PM episode in 1975 that had Avery as part of an answer to an Audience Match question. A 1978 show brought in two of the least-intelligent contestants ever to play the game. Charles was the only person who matched either of them, and one only moved on to the bonus round because Charles matched him. A year later, the episode got so wild, Avery was dashing out Gene's entrance and Elaine Joyce and Gary Burghoff were making out in the opening.

Here's the link, so you can match wits and facial hair with the wackiest comic on the panel! Tomorrow's marathon turns the attention to the set and crew, as MatchGameProductions highlights the craziest set failures and most epic crew mishaps ever on the show, from broken chairs to the question holder not working correctly to misspelled and mis-timed words on the Audience Match.

The Best of Avery Schreiber on Match Game Marathon 1974 - 1979

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